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It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

I believe that the greatest virtue in the eyes of God is faithfulness; it embraces everything. Faithfulness is after God's own heart. Take a passing glance at this steward – Paul the Apostle. "Demas forsook me..."; (2 Tim. 4:10); "...all that are in Asia turned away from me..." (2 Tim. 1:15). Look at him when everything which would inspire to faithfulness is breaking down. He is left practically alone. He has more enemies than ever. And now the tragedy, the pathos is that so many of his enemies are those to whom he has been most used. While there were enemies without it was not so difficult, but now the very people for whom he has spent himself have become his enemies. But there is no thought, no hint, no suggestion of giving up. His word is, "...faithful unto death...." This steward was faithful. You cannot say that, when he died, the situation outwardly testified to tremendous success. It did not look like that at all. Paul's life was not vindicated up to the hilt. No! He died largely a lonely man, but faithful, "...it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." But what enrichment of others may follow from the meeting of that requirement, costly as it is. Paul is not dead! I only hope that Paul knows of all that has sprung from his ministry, all that his ministry means to us. The Lord has met us through His servant, and we never, never get to the depths or anywhere near the bottom of the fullness of Christ that has come through Paul. We shall go on, and, if we live twice or three times the length of our present life, we shall still be making discoveries of what we owe to Paul's faithfulness as a steward. That has been going on century after century.

That is faithful stewardship, and although the steward may be called away from his earthly stewardship, the stewardship goes on. Faithfulness is always rewarded beyond our wildest dreams. May the Lord maintain us in faithfulness, even though that faithfulness may sometimes involve us in an appearance of utter failure. The Lord make us good stewards.

Candour: Self efforts in ministry will always lead to crooked practice as the minister seeks to adopt worldly methods to achieve heavenly success. He must therefore go the way of the world because his 'success' had become defined by what the world calls success.

No matter what, if its of the Lord, he knows what to make of it and he alone can define what success is. So Christ can authoritatively say where 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, he's there in their midst. The world will disagree with this as to the world, bigger means better and more means success.

May God help us see his strength even in our times of weakness and may he let us see his hands working in us even when the world terms us failures.

God bless you abundantly bro

very true bro,
Paul said in 2cor:4 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
whatsoever they term us, His Cross must preached.
may HIS GRACE never depart from you bro.

For the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. (Matthew 15:6 ESV)
This revelation of Christ in us, when it is a true, real, living revelation, not only leads to and makes for stability and assurance and confidence, wonder and freshness and Life, but it leads to loneliness, and I should be false to you if I did not say so, and indicate what that means; because the majority even of Christians are still hide-bound by tradition. They are still all of that other kind: what they have received they have received through men or from a man; they have taken on an already completed, rounded-off system of truth and teaching called Christianity. They have entered into it and taken it up, and they cannot see beyond it. You do not question their sincerity, nor do you doubt their earnestness, but there is that about all they have which is so second-hand. It is something which has existed through the Christian centuries, developed by this one and that one, shaped, formed and phrased by different teachers. It has become the evangel, evange lical Christianity in all its set terms, phraseology and forms. They do not see beyond it. And when one moves out of that realm into a personal, direct knowledge of the Lord through what we often term an open heaven – but not, mark you, through a new or different revelation of Christ that is something apart from the Scriptures – into that experience, where we can say, "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me, and with me it is so real that sometimes I wonder if anyone has such a knowledge, such an experience"; when we move that way, we move into a lonely realm. The majority cannot follow, cannot go with us, and cannot understand.
It does seem to me that there was something of that about Paul, that even other apostles were not able to grasp or apprehend Paul. He seemed to be very much one by himself. Yet here too we see the wonderful grace of God.... It does seem that even Paul, surrounded though he was by all the other apostles, had to go a lonely way, because this revelation was to him something so personal. It does mean that: understand that; and probably some of you do understand it in your experience. It will put you very largely into a lonely position, so far as the majority of other Christians are concerned, if you are going this way.

He is our only weapon against the devil.
Exod11:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8,9)

It is a part of the nature of things that we never learn in a vital way by information. We really only come into the good of things by being "pressed out of measure." So the Lord has to take much time to make spiritual history. When at length our eyes are open, we cry, "Oh, why did I not see it before!" But everything else had to prove insufficient before we could really be shown, and that takes time. Thus it was that we were turned in that dark hour to Romans chapter six, and, almost as though He spoke in audible language, the Lord said: "When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. When I took you, I not only took you as the sinner that you might regard yourself to be, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good (?) as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a 'worker,' a 'preacher,' an organizer! My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself, but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith."

At this point, therefore, we awoke to the fundamental principle of our Lord's own life while here, and it became the law of everything for us from that time. That principle was: "nothing of (out from) Himself", but "all things of (out from) God." "The Son can do nothing of (out from) Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing: for what things soever He doeth, then the Son also doeth in like manner"(John 5:19). Such a revelation, if it is to be a staggering and breaking thing, so that there is no strength left in us, requires a background of much vain effort. But then, it carries with it a great implication. While an end is written large in the Cross, and while that end is to be accepted as our end indeed, so that there can be no more of anything so far as we are concerned, Jesus lives! And that means boundless possibilities.

I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel. (Galatians 2:2 NIV)

How important it is that every fresh undertaking in work for God should come by revelation to those chosen for it. Because God has so spoken and given revelation to some chosen instrument and a truly spiritual work has been done, others have taken it as a model and have sought to imitate it in other places. The result has been, and is, that they are called upon to take responsibility for it – find the resources of workers, funds and general support. This, in turn, issues in many sad and pathetic, if not evil and worldly, methods and means being employed, and those concerned find themselves in a false position. Conception, not imitation, is the Divine law of reproduction. Anointing, not human selection, is the Divine law of succession. The fact is that the work of God has become a sphere for so manynatural elements to find expression and gratification. Man must do something, see something, have something. Ambition, acqu isition, achievement, etc., have found their way over to Christian enterprise, and so, very often (let us be quite frank) things have become 'ours' – 'our work,' 'our mission,' 'our field,' 'our clientele'; and jealousies, rivalries, bitterness and many other things of the flesh abound.

It is a very difficult thing, a CRUCIFIXION indeed, for the natural man to do nothing and have nothing, and especially to know nothing. But in the case of His most greatly used instruments, God has made this a very real part of their training and preparation. The utter emptying of all self-resource is the only way to have "all things of (out from) God" (2 Cor. 5:18). On this basis, even Christ elected to live. We need not remind you of Moses' "I am not eloquent" (Exo. 4:10), and Jeremiah's "I am a child" (Jer. 1:6), and Paul's "that we should not trust in ourselves" (2 Cor. 1:9). These were of a school in which the great lesson of the difference between natural and spiritual was taught experimentally.

Goshen360: We PREACH Christ and Him CRUCIFIED ...

I'm blessed again by your write up again @ Chuka. The cross of Christ, a great divider and crosses a man from 'there' to 'here'. The cross of Christ itself is a revelational message specially revealed and given to the Apostles, it's not just and event. Somethings took place on that cross and since Christ died, He had to reveal what took place on the cross to them because he wasn't physically on earth to tell it to them.

So, the cross, death, burial AND RESURRECTION is the finished and complete works of Christ. All what is revealed in the New Covenant are rooted in these four.

Again, thank you @ chuka, reading you first thing this morning is so refreshing.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31
King James Version (KJV)
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
My brother preach any thing to the World and you will have peace,but preach the CROSS (CHRIST CRUCIFIED) then you are there worst enemy

Candour: what a message!! what a reminder!! you've just brought sunday service into my office now as i'm currently on an assignment now and can't fellowship with other believers.

It's all about Christ really. Nothing about trying to maintain particular laws of Moses. Christ works in me to fulfill the purposes of God. No boasting, no sense of accomplishment because when my works are weighed on their own without Christ, they are found seriously wanting and lacking in substance. Christ works what he wills through me and i'm grateful for the opportunity.

I have accepted his gift of righteousness for all my goodness are filthy rags even in my own eyes.

God bless you my bro

Act2;46;New International Version
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.
my brother like you said its all about CHRIST nothing more and theres no special day.
Bless you too bro.

R.I.P Sir.......

AMEN!!!

Some guys had to Google "ETERNAL LIFE"

I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked... But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go. (John 21:18 NLT)

There is no safe place, apart from the constant application of the principle of the Cross. Safety absolutely demands it. Nothing is safe in our hands. The more the Lord blesses, the more peril there is. The greatest peril comes when the Lord begins to use us.... It is a most perilous thing to be entrusted with Divine riches, so far as our flesh is concerned. The only safe place is where the Cross is still at work, touching all that is ourselves, touching all our independence of action.

Take all these Apostles – take Peter, a man who would act so independently, who liked to do things on his own and do what he wanted to do. We find it cropping up constantly. He is the man who acts without stopping to ask anybody. We have no hint that he ever got into fellowship with his brother disciples and said, "I am thinking of doing so and so; I would very much like you to pray with me about it, and to tell me what you think; I have no intention of going on unless there is one mind among us." Peter never did that sort of thing. He got an idea, and off he went. The Lord summed him up very well when He said: "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not" (John 21:18). That was Peter before the Cross was in-wrought in him. But see him afterwards... "Peter an d John," "Peter and John," "Peter and John." Well, they are moving together now, there is relatedness. Is it an acknowledgment that Peter felt his need of cooperation and fellowship, that he had seen the perils and disasters into which independent action led him, even when his intentions and motives were of the best? These are just glimpses of how the Cross touches us in our impulsive, independent nature, our self-will, our self-strength. The Cross has to deal with all that to make things safe for God, and to keep us moving in the way of increasing knowledge of the Lord, which, as we have said, lies behind all our value to the Lord, all our usefulness, all our service.

Let our lives lovingly express truth in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him. (Ephesians 4:15 AMP)
Any system of religion that just puts on from the outside, and covers over the inner life by mere rite and ritual is false, it is not true. The work of God is to reconstitute human nature. And that, of course, involves two things. On the one side, it involves a breaking down. And if you know anything about God's dealings with lives who come into His hands, there is undoubtedly a large place for that – a progressive breaking down; a getting to the root of things, and undeceiving us. If we have any illusions about ourselves, they will all be gone when God has done with us. If we are governed by any kind of falsehood about ourselves, and our position, and our work, when God has done with us, that will all be gone. He is going to break us down until we see ourselves stark, as an unclean thing, with all our righteousnesses as filthy rags. So He will break us down, and He does.
But there is the other side, of course, all the time, for God is not only, and always negative; there is the constructing, bringing up to the place where anything that is false, anything that is not absolutely transparent and true, straight, clear, is hateful to us. More and more our inner man revolts against our own falsehood. Any exaggerations come back on us at once with conviction of wrong; any false statement hits us hard, and we know that we have not spoken the truth. It is a tremendous thing to get into the hands of the Holy Spirit, until, like God, the one thing that we hate is anything that is false. "I hate", said David, "every false way." We must come there. But we must be lovers of the truth. And this is going to pursue us everywhere; it will pursue us into our own life within ourselves, that we are not deceiving ourselves at all. Before God we know exactly what God thinks about us, and we know where we stand in the light.... And the nearer we come to the Lord, the more meticulous the Holy Spirit is over this matter of truth; the closer are His dealings with us. It is very true, you see, "perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord" – perfecting. The nearer we get to the end, the more stringent will be the Lord's dealings with anything false in our lives. It is a time matter, but God is very faithful – He is very faithful; He does not let things pass. Do we want Him to be faithful? Well, it is not comfortable to say, "Yes," but it is good that He should be faithful with every inconsistency, every contradiction, every falsehood, in the inward parts.

Pastor Olu T: Very nice thread, God is indeed faithful we should never forget that, though many atimes situations suggests n make us think n do otherwise.

so true bro,

Now when every maids turn was come to go in to King Ahasuerus,after that she had been twelve months according to the manner of women,(FOR SO WERE THE DAYS OF PURIFICATIONS ACCOMPLISHED,TO WIT,SIX MONTHS WITH OIL OF MYRRH,AND SIX MONTHS WITH SWEET ODOURS,AND WITH OTHER THINGS FOR PURIFYING OF THE WOMEN)....Esther2;12

THE COMING OF CHRIST BEING
GOD'S REQUIREMENT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth was God's requirement in righteousness; it was not God's requirement in grace. This is a very serious word. If there had been love without righteousness, the Lord Jesus would not have needed to come to the earth, and the cross would have been unnecessary. Because of the problem of righteousness the Lord Jesus had to come. Without righteousness, God could save us any way He wants to. He could overlook our sins, or He could forgive them lightly. He could take a permissive attitude toward our sins, or He could be completely unconcerned about them. If God said, "Since all have sinned, I will let you go this time; just do not sin again," there would be no need for a Jesus of Nazareth in the first place. Apart from the requirement of righteousness, there was no need for Jesus of Nazareth to come. The coming of Jesus of Nazareth was a requirement of righteousness.
When sin entered the world, God's government was damaged. His prescribed order in the universe was broken; His glory was trodden under; His holiness was profaned; His authority was rejected; and His truth was misunderstood. When sin entered the world, Satan laughed and the angels testified that man had failed and had fallen. If God were to judge sin mercilessly, He would be without love. But if He were to let man's sins go without judging them, He would be without righteousness. Because God loves the world and, at the same time, He is righteous, He had to send the Lord Jesus to us. Because He is righteous, He had to judge sin. Because He is love, He had to bear man's sins for him. I must emphasize these two statements: God must judge because He is righteous. And God bears man's judgment and punishment because He is love. Without judgment, we see no righteousness; with judgment, we see no love. However, what He did was to bear the judgment on our behalf. In this way, He manifests both His love and His righteousness in Jesus Christ...........................to be continued.

There is one book in the Bible, the book of Romans, that tells us how God deals specifically with this one problem. Let us read Romans 3:25-26, beginning with the second part of verse 25: "For the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred, with a view to the demonstrating of His righteousness in the present time, so that He might be righteous and the One who justifies him who is of the faith of Jesus." Here I must add a word. Some versions make a mistake in translating verse 25. They translate: "To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." But the word "for" should not be used in this verse. Instead it should read: "For the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred." Further, in verse 26 the word "and" should be understood as linking two things that occur at the same time. Hence, this clause should be understood in this way: "that He might be righteous and the One who justifies him who is of the faith of Jesus." While God justifies those who believe in Jesus, He is shown to be righteous, and man is to acknowledge Him as being righteous.
Verse 25 deals with the problems in the past, and verse 26 deals with the problems in the present. The problems in the past relate to the people of the Old Testament times. The problems in the present relate to the people of the New Testament times. Verse 25 deals with an Old Testament issue. Verse 26 deals with a New Testament issue. Those in the Old Testament times transgressed the law for four thousand years. They were full of sins and transgressions. But God did not send them into perdition or destruction immediately. During those four thousand years, day by day God forbore and passed over the sins previously committed. We do not see the lake of fire immediately after the garden of Eden. Although God told man that in the day that he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die (Gen. 2:17), when Adam did eat of the fruit, he did not go immediately into the lake of fire. Why not? Because God passed over the sins of the Old Testament times; He exercised His forbearance over them. God exercised forbearance and passed over the sins committed by man in the past. But a question arises immediately. Was God righteous in exercising forbearance and passing over man's sins in the Old Testament? What was God's purpose in doing this? Actually, in passing over man's sins and in exercising forbearance, God was declaring His righteousness.
God does not want us to think that after we are saved our salvation is an illegal one. God would not have man harbor such criticisms. God wants to show us that there is nothing illegal or unrighteous in His ways. Concerning the sins of the Old Testament times, He says that His forbearance and His passing over were for the demonstrating of His righteousness. Concerning the sins of the present time, He says that what is done is also for the demonstrating of His righteousness. He desires that in justifying those who believe in Jesus He would be known as the righteous One.
God's salvation is not some "backdoor merchandise." God wants our salvation to be one that comes from the "front door." Our salvation has to be right and proper. He will not allow anyone to say that our salvation is improper. He does not offer a fraudulent salvation. A fraudulent salvation is rejected by God. God's intention is to save us, but He will do so in a way that is related to His nature, His moral standard, His dignity, His law, and His righteousness. God cannot save us lawlessly.
Here we have a problem. If God were willing to use whatever means possible to save us and if He were to ignore the matter of righteousness altogether, He could say to anyone, "Go; you are free." There are men who are foolishly good. If God were to say this, He would be a foolishly good God. God would never be like this. If God did not love you, it would be easy—He would just let you die and perish when you sin. But He cannot allow this to happen because He loves you. The problem is that the sin of man and the love of God are together. When the righteousness of God is added to these two, salvation becomes the most difficult thing on earth. If man had not sinned, everything would be fine; and if God had not loved, there would be no problem either. If someone commits a crime and must die, it has nothing to do with me if I do not love him. Today many are taken from prisons to be executed. The matter concerns me little if I do not love them. It is difficult only if I love them and if I want to rescue them. If they have not sinned, the matter would be easy to deal with. And if I do not love them, the matter is also easy to handle. Further, if they have sinned and I love them but have no righteousness, the matter can still be taken care of easily; I can handle the matter irresponsibly through bribery. But if I am a righteous person, I cannot resort to such fraudulent and improper methods. I would not let them go illegally. If I am to rescue them, I have to rescue them righteously. To carry out such a salvation becomes the most difficult task on the whole earth. These three matters—love, sin, and righteousness—cannot easily coexist. Love is a fact; sin is also a fact; and righteousness is a necessity. Because these three are together, God must come up with a way to save us and to satisfy His heart of love, while at the same time preserving His righteousness. Accomplishing such a work would be a masterpiece indeed. Hallelujah! The salvation which God has prepared for us in His Son Jesus is such a masterpiece. He is able to save us from our sins and demonstrate His love, and He is able to do so in a most righteous way. This He does through the work of redemption by the Lord Jesus.

GOD’s RIGHTEOUSNESS
The phrase God's righteousness has confused many theologians for centuries. If we read the Bible without prejudice and preconceived notions, God will show us what His righteousness is. We can see this matter clearly without much difficulty. Lets see, by the grace of God, what God's righteousness is. In other words, and also to see the difficulty God encounters when He saves us.
HIS SALVATION MATCHING HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
If God is to save us, He must save us to a condition that matches, or measures up to Himself. If God is to give us salvation, He cannot give it in a manner that conflicts with His nature, His method, and His way. We are sinners full of transgressions and, therefore, have no thought of righteousness at all. If we wanted to be saved, we would probably use any means possible, whether straight or crooked, good or bad. We would try to be saved by any of a thousand and one ways. As long as we can be saved in some way, it is good enough for us. We do not care if the procedure is proper or if the method is right. As long as we are saved, we are satisfied. We could not care less from where the salvation comes, and whether or not it is right. In this sense, we are like thieves. All that a thief cares about is getting the money. He does not care where the money comes from. As long as he gets the money, he is satisfied. He has no concept of right and wrong; he has no concept of righteousness and unrighteousness. But we must realize that salvation is not just a matter of us getting saved, but of God saving us. Although we would be satisfied no matter how we are saved, God cannot say that all there is to salvation is getting us saved, without caring about whether the way we are saved is right or wrong. God undoubtedly desires to give us grace and to save us. Without doubt, He wants to give us His life. God is full of love, and He is more than willing for us to be saved. But if God is to save us, He has to save us in an excelling way. Therefore, God's saving us is a big problem. God desires to save men. But what method can He use so that man can be saved in a most righteous way? What method is most reasonable? What method will match His own dignity? It is easy to be saved, but it is difficult to be saved righteously. This is why the Bible speaks so much about God's righteousness. It tells us again and again that God saves man in a way that matches His own righteousness.
What is God's righteousness? God's righteousness is God's way of doing things. Love is God's nature, holiness is God's disposition, and glory is God's own being. Righteousness, however, is God's procedure, His way, and His method. Since God is righteous, He cannot love man merely according to His own love. He cannot grant man grace merely according to what He wants. He cannot save man merely according to His heart's desire. It is true that God saves man because He loves man. But He must do so in a way that is in agreement with His own righteousness, His own procedure, His own moral standard, His own way, His own method, His own dignity, and His own majesty.
We know that it is easy for God to save man. But it is not easy for God to save man in a righteous way. Just imagine how easy it would be for God to save us if the matter of righteousness were not a problem. There would be no difficulty at all. If God had not loved us, nothing could be done for us and everything would be hopeless. But God has loved us and has had mercy on us. Furthermore, He intends to give us grace. If the issue of righteousness had not come in, God could say, "Have you sinned? All right, just do not commit the mistake again." God could then overlook our sins. He could let us go and send us away. If God forgives carelessly not judging the sinner's sin and dealing with his sins according to the law, where is His righteousness? Here is where the difficulty lies.
Undoubtedly, God is full of love for us. God wants to save us. But He must do so legally. If He does not save us legally, He cannot save us at all. God's love is limited by His righteousness. God cannot act contrary to Himself and irresponsibly declare that our sins are written off, that everything is fine, and that we can get off free. If God were to forgive us irresponsibly, what law, what righteousness, and what truth would be left in the universe? All of these would be through.
God wants to save us, and we need to be saved. The question is whether or not there will be unrighteousness in our being saved. There are many today who accept bribes from others and are partial because of private relationships. They often help others out, and others often receive benefits from them; but we all agree that these people are not proper. They are not righteous but corrupt. They may have much love, but what they do is not righteous. God cannot save us at the expense of involving Himself in unrighteousness. God must save us while preserving His righteousness. It is important for God to save us, but He must do so according to His righteousness. God could save us immediately with His love. But He must also save us very righteously.
How can this be done? It is not an easy matter for God to save us without violating His righteousness. How can God justify sinners without getting into unrighteousness? How can God save sinners without involving Himself in unrighteousness? How can God forgive sins in a righteous way? God is willing to save us, but He wants us to be able to say, at the time we receive His life and are saved, that He has justified us in a most righteous way...........................

Serve each other through love. (Galatians 5:13 GW)

It is always the work of God's enemy to clog up our lives by introducing love of self or love of the world, and it needs ruthless determination to remove the accumulated rubbish and re-dig the well in purity of devotion to Christ. It may well be, though, that the hindrances arise from lack of love to our fellow believers. We must remember that the Holy Spirit can never have free course in us and through us if we harbor unloving thoughts concerning other of God's children, let alone put those thoughts into actions. He is the Spirit of fellowship, so that if we fail in that realm then we fail in the matter of love. It is so easy to allow unworthy considerations to quench brotherly love, to be clogged up with resentment or to be wrongly influenced by our susceptibilities or hurt feelings.... We have to be active in positive cultivation of fellowship. To some it is quite natural to be independent. For them deference to others represents a major difficulty. Some times they may deliberately ignore or despise others, but sometimes they just prefer to do it alone and never seriously think of inter-relatedness and inter-dependence.

The Word of God, however, is most explicit in ordering us to esteem one another, to submit to one another and to live and work together. The Holy Spirit demands that the people of God live according to a team order of things, that they should be governed by a family spirit. Anything which is of an isolated or detached nature, which fails to recognize and fully accept the family thought of God, is a check on Him. By failing to observe fellowship we quench the Spirit. It is not only a matter of avoiding giving offence but of active pursuit of fellowship. Some may be wondering why there is so little up-springing from the inner well, when they are sitting back in a wrong kind of modesty, failing to bring in their own personal contribution to fellowship life and ministry. Unkindness is not the only obstacle in this realm. Shyness and diffidence can equally rest like a stone on the flow of Life. The only thing to do is to dig it up and move it away. Get in, get r ight in, and let yourself go! Do not always choose the back seat because you like to be left alone, but come forward in the Lord's name and give the Holy Spirit a free course in your lives. He is well able to check you if you become too self-assertive, but there is little He can do if your well is all stopped up with fears and inhibitions.....

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3 NIV)

What do we expect when we go on with God, when we come right out for God? What have we in view? Well, the answer to that question will decide whether, in relation to God, we have ambitions for something on the earth. Do you get the point? You see, it is so possible to swing over your natural ambitions to spiritual aims. It is the same thing still at work, and the only difference is the direction or sphere. You can be as ambitious in the work of God as you can be in the world, and it is the same natural ambition. It is the ambitiousness of nature. You desire – what do you desire? To see something, to have something, to be in something? Ambition for success; yes, once it was in the world – now the same ambition transferred to other things....

It is a mark of going on when we can come to the place where it is true before God that we have let go all the prosperity and success even of Christian work and Christian ministry as men would count it. To be able to let go the great opportunities and the great advantages that may be had amongst Christian people, and the prizes that can be grasped, and to say, “It is all right, the Lord knows; it is for Him to give or withhold. I am not going to make a line for those prizes. I am not going to allow those things to influence my walk with God. Ambition is not going to dictate my course,” is a sure sign of growth. It may not seem here on earth to mean very big things; wide open doors and all that, but somehow you may take it that there is Life there, spiritual influence there, something that is counting there. In the end it will have counted. But this does sometimes first of all necessitate that conflict with ambition where all those suggestions an d influences have to be laid low, and we come to the place where we see that the way of Life is to go on with God though it costs us everything. The law of the Spirit of Life works in that way.... The way of Life demands that we shall get before the Lord again, and say, “Lord, though all my earthly prospects fade, though all my ambitions are disappointed, it is You I want. You are my ambition, my goal. If I have You, these other things will count for much less.” I believe that, as we can get there – and not many of us have got a long way on that road – but as we can get there, we find the secret of Life, of joy, of release...............

Great post,
bro,Bidam

Bidan
nice one,bless u

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. (Isaiah 9:7)

Everything which has to do with the realization of God's purpose in creating man, and this world, and its universe, is a matter of knowing God in Christ, which, of course, means knowing Christ. Every aspect and detail of God's will and God's way and God's end is a matter of knowing the Lord Jesus. All progress, as all life, rests upon that – knowing Him. The Christian life here is meant to be one of continuous growth and development and progress, but that only takes place as we come to know more, and still more, of the meaning of the Lord Jesus. This progress will not stop when we leave this world, and when time gives place to eternity: "Of the increase of His kingdom there will be no end." Stagnation is no mark of Life, and Life there will be ever manifesting itself in new and more wonderful fullnesses and forms. Therefore, the knowledge of Christ which will, in time and eternity, be the secret of growth and progress, will conti nue in heaven, and it will take eternity to exhaust it....

Seeing He is so vast, so immense, so many-sided, we can only see Him from one standpoint at a time; we have to move round to see Him from every angle. And at this time we are just looking at the Lord Jesus from one of the many angles, or points of view, which is this particular aspect of His significance: that He, in His Person and in His work, stands related to an eternal, heavenly order. He Himself, in His wonderful, complex Person, is the very embodiment of all the principles and laws of a great heavenly order. When everything is conformed to Christ and takes its character from Him, it will be one glorious, harmonious whole, perfected into one, just one glorious unity...

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV)

This is an age of cheapness. Get it as cheaply and as quickly as you can, with just as little cost and tiresomeness. "Get it quickly: get it easily." That thought governs the whole world system. Everything is now aligned to getting it done easily and getting it done quickly. It is that way in your kitchen, your scurrying, your household affairs, and in every other realm. What is true in the secular has now become very largely true in the spiritual. The standards have been terribly lowered. Bigness has substituted greatness. Greatness, the true meaning of the word, is no longer considered. Oh, how we hear, "Big, oh yes, the bigger, then assuredly that is the most successful," but this is absolutely contrary to the Bible, to all gospel. It is like that. Ease and easiness, lightness, glamorousness, excitement, emotion: this is the order of our day. This hurrying that we are speaking of comes so largely into Christianity: and the result is t hat we have quite a poor type of Christian....

I am very glad that there is a manifest outreach, especially on the part of young people, for reality. They are tired and sick of unreality. That is a very good thing indeed if only they find reality and do not go in for the substitutes that are today being retailed so lavishly, the substitutes which seem to be real and are an illusion.... While we are going to be joyful in the Lord, sometimes there is a large gap between being happy and joyful. "Happy" depends upon "hap": "Joy" goes on whatever "happens." There is a need of a recovery or reappraisal of the true nature of that into which we have come when we have come into Christ.... Paul opens a window and just gives us a glimpse in that letter to the Philippians when he says, "...Who, existing in the form of God." A long way back before anything else was this One to Whom we have come; and in the terms of fellowship, we are "called into the fellowship& quot; of this One.... We have not come into some very small, light, frivolous thing. However we may joyfully sing our choruses and so on, but remember, this is no cheap thing. This is no small thing. This is no easy thing. This is a thing which embraces the universe, and we are called into that fellowship. I pray that you may have a new glimpse of the wonder of the One Whom you love and Whom you call, Savior AND LORD.

Bidam: Anytime i go through trying times i always encourage my self using what Paul said here:
...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.Philippians 4:11-13 Good post bro..

Thanks bro.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:10,11 NLT)

You never do touch the Lord Jesus in His death in any new measure without knowing a new measure of resurrection Life. When the Lord Jesus by His Spirit brings us in a further measure into the meaning of His death, let it be settled with us, once and for all, that that is in itself a new measure of resurrection Life. The two things go together, it cannot be otherwise. It is death unto Life. It is loss unto gain. The Life and the gain are of a different sort from the death and the loss. The death and the loss is simply all that which, sooner or later, will go in any case, and even while it remains is of a very doubtful value, but the Life and the gain are eternal, and have in them all the values of God. So Paul could, with something of joy, hail conformity to the death of Christ. He speaks about it in no mournful terms as though he were going to lose everything. There is no shadow on his face, or sob in his voice, when he speaks about being conformed to His d eath. It is the shout of a victor. There is something he is after....

He has known power, popularity, reputation, position, possession, and he says the knowledge of Christ Jesus is excelling all that. What knowledge is it? It is the particular knowledge of "Him, and the power of His resurrection." Why? Because of what that leads to, all the possibilities of that resurrection Life and power, because of its ultimate issue: because of the place to which it can bring him, no less a place than the very Throne of the Lord Himself.

@Drummaboy
Great up

@op
Amen in Jesus name

James2:21-24”Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”.
The above verses also shows us what justification by faith really is. Verse 21 says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" James 2 mentions the case of Abraham. Galatians 3 and Romans 4 also mention the case of Abraham. Paul says that man is justified by faith, not by works, and he uses the case of Abraham as proof. Both Romans 4 and Galatians 3 prove that man is justified by faith rather than by works. James also mentions the case of Abraham, but he uses it to prove that man is justified not only by faith, but by works as well. If he had used other persons, we might not understand this matter. But in mentioning the case of Abraham, we can surely understand what justification by faith really is.
In using the case of Abraham, Paul refers to Genesis 15, whereas James refers to Genesis 22. In Genesis 15 God promised Abraham that his seed would be like the stars in heaven. In Galatians 3, Paul puts strong emphasis on God's promise to Abraham. In the book of Galatians, Paul repeatedly talks about the promise. The word promise is used very frequently in the book of Galatians. Paul uplifts the promise in Galatians.
Do you know what a promise is? In the whole world, there is only one way for man to receive a promise, and that is by faith. There is no other way for a man to receive a promise. There is only this one condition. If God says that we must do something and we do it, it is work. But God did not tell Abraham that He would give him something if Abraham did this or that. Rather, God said that He would give him descendants. How did Abraham receive the promise? There was no other way but by faith. Suppose a brother tells his son that if he memorizes a list of vocabulary words tonight, he will receive five pieces of candy tomorrow. If the son is to receive the five pieces of candy, he has to memorize the words. This is work. But if the brother simply promises his son five pieces of candy, what does his son have to do? Will he say, "I have to do this or that before I can get the candy"? The child does not have to do anything. All he has to do is believe that his father will do it for him. In Genesis 15 God did not give Abraham one single thing to do. It is as if God said, "I will do it for you. I will give you descendants." Abraham believed in God, and that was reckoned to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Going back to the example of the brother's son, the child may say, "Will my father really give me five pieces of candy? It does not seem like such a good thing could ever happen." If he thinks this way, he does not have faith. Everyone who wants to understand the book of Galatians must realize that a promise is without condition and without work. One does not have to do anything. The Father has done everything. Thank the Lord that everything that God promises He will accomplish. As long as God is trustworthy, everything is fine. Even if one tries to do a work, it will not avail.
In Genesis 15 God promised Abraham that He would give him many descendants. Abraham had everything. But he did not have a son. He had cattle, he had sheep, and he had tents. But he did not have a son. However, Abraham believed God. He believed that God would give him a son. He merely believed God. He did not do any work. In chapter twenty-two, after God had given him a son, He said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (v. 2). Then Abraham got up early in the morning and took his son to Mount Moriah. He laid the wood for the burnt offering on his son Isaac's back, and Isaac bore the wood for the burnt offering, in the same way that the Lord Jesus bore the cross. When they reached the mountain, Abraham built an altar, laid his son on the altar, and was about to kill him. This is the incident that James recounts when he refers to Abraham's justification. In Genesis 15 God's justification of Abraham was related to his son. And in Genesis 22 God's justification of him was also related to his son.
In Genesis 15 Abraham had no son. But he believed in his heart that if God said He would give him a son, he would surely have a son. In chapter twenty-two he did have a son, but God wanted him to offer up this son. If Abraham had not had faith, he would have said, "God, You told me that You would give me many descendants. Now if I kill my son, will I not lose them all? It is not that I am unwilling to do this; I just want to see Your promise fulfilled. It is not that I dare not do it; I just want to preserve Your faithfulness." Do you think that Abraham's offering of Isaac was a work or an act of faith? What good work is it to kill one's son? What is there to praise about in killing one's own son? That Abraham raised the knife to offer up his son shows that he still believed the promise of chapter fifteen. God had promised to give him many descendants, and to this end He had given him one son. Now if God wanted him to kill this son, it must be that God would raise him up from the dead. This is what Abraham had in mind when he was about to kill his son. His willingness to kill his son shows that he believed that Isaac would be raised from the dead. The faith in Genesis 15 is a faith in Him who calls things not being into being, while the faith in Genesis 22 is a faith in Him who raises people from the dead (Rom. 4:17). In both instances, what Abraham did was not something of work, but of faith. Abraham's act proved that he had faith. This does not mean that Abraham could be justified by killing his son. It means that in pulling out his knife, he proved that he had faith. The proof of Abraham's faith lies in his willingness to offer up his son.
Hence, James did not say that one cannot be justified by faith. Paul says strongly that justification is not by works, but James could not strongly say that justification is not by faith. If the two contradict each other, we would expect one to say, "Justification is of faith, not of works," and the other to say, "Justification is of works, not of faith." But James does not say this. We must not say what James has not said. James does not say that we should not have faith; he says that one should prove his faith with his work. Paul is the one who talks about the principle, so he can boldly declare that justification is of faith and not of works. James is a man of practice. Thus, he says that one must not have faith only, but should have works as well. Only when there are works can a man prove that his faith is genuine. Let us read James 2:21 again: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" His offering up of his son was a work, and it was this work that proved that he had faith.
Verse 22 says, "You see that faith worked together with his works." Paul is bold to say that one can have faith alone, without works. But James does not dare to say that one should have works alone, without faith. He indicates that the faith in Genesis 15 and the work in Genesis 22 go hand in hand. Then he adds another clause. He does not say that justification comes through faith plus work. Rather, he says, "And by these works faith was perfected." In Genesis 15 we see that because Abraham had faith, he was justified before God. In Genesis 22 we see that because Abraham had works, he was justified before men. Abraham's justification was perfected by his work in Genesis 22. The offering up of Isaac in Genesis 22 manifested the faith in Genesis 15, and the faith in Genesis 15 was perfected by the work in Genesis 22.
In verse 23 our brother James also quotes from Genesis 15. In Romans 4 Paul quotes from Genesis 15 to prove that one needs faith only, not works. Now our brother James quotes the same word that Paul does: "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, `And Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.'" In James the word it refers to the act on the mount in Genesis 22. Abraham's offering of Isaac in Genesis 22 was an offering of faith. It was a work that manifested his faith. It was a fulfillment of the words in Genesis 15 that say that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. In Genesis 15 God justified Abraham due to his faith. Abraham's work in Genesis 22 fulfilled God's promise in Genesis 15. Hence, we cannot say that faith alone does not save and that there is the need of works as well. The condition for salvation is faith, not works. But if there is faith, then spontaneously there will be a change in works. Many people are very good in their works. But these works do not manifest their faith. These are works without faith; these are not what James was concerned with.
Verse 24 is very good: "A man is justified by works and not by faith only." See how careful James is? He says man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Paul is able to say that man is justified by faith and not by works at all. But James never says that man is justified by works alone and not by faith at all. If he were to say that, we would have to conclude that the two apostles have divergent views on doctrine. James says that man is justified by works. But following that he adds another word, that it is not by faith alone. When one has works, it proves that he has faith. This does not mean that one should have good works only, but that one should have works of faith.

James2:25 “Likewise also was not RAHAB the “HARLOT” Justified by works.when she had received the messagers,and had sent them out another way/”
Here James mentions the case of a prostitute. Rahab was not an honorable woman. There was nothing of merit in her works. Therefore, we see that justification is not a matter of good works, but of works of faith. At issue is works of faith, not works of morality. "And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works in that she received the messengers and sent them out by a different way?" What kind of good works is this? The Israelites were crossing the Jordan River to attack Jericho. If Rahab had been even slightly patriotic, she would have handed over the two spies. But when the king of Jericho sent men to look for them, Rahab hid them upstairs. Later she let them get away. James tells us that this woman's work justified her. What work did she have? Her work was to lie. The men were obviously there, but she said that they were not. Is lying a good work? Every Christian knows that lying is not good. Yet Rahab was justified by her work of lying. If some say that this is justification by works, it is something that they themselves are saying; it is not what James is saying. They are merely saying in the name of James what they want to say. But what does James himself say? He says that when Rahab let the two men who spied out Jericho get away, it was reckoned to her as righteousness.
What does James mean? When the Israelites left Egypt and went into the wilderness, they could not settle down anywhere, but had to wander for forty years. What good is such a nation? At least there was a wall around Rahab's Jericho. All that the Israelites had was sand under their feet. At least there were houses in Jericho. All that the Israelites had were tents. Even their God had to dwell in a tent. What was so special about such a nation? However, when the two spies came and told her how God had cared for them, performed miracles for them, and had promised that Jericho, and even the whole land of Canaan, would be delivered to them, their words caused Rahab to believe. She put her own future, her life, and even her whole family in their trust. She was even willing to do something against her own country. God does not say that this was a good work; He says that this work was the expression of her faith. If the walls of Jericho had been made of straw or chicken feathers, we might think that the walls could have indeed fallen. But the walls of Jericho were as high as heaven. Its gates were fortified with brass bars. How could it have been taken easily? How could Rahab have committed herself to the two spies? This was a work out of faith, and God says that what justifies a person is this kind of work. It is not a question of good or bad. To have good works is not the issue at all. To have bad works is neither the issue. The flesh is absolutely useless before God. It has no place at all. Every work in Adam, whether good or bad, is rejected by God. If a man tells others that only good works save, such a person does not know what the flesh is. Hence, it is not an issue of works. Good works cannot justify. Neither can bad works.
Hence, James 2 is on works of faith. It is not on anything else. Rahab was there risking her life. If the men sent by the king of Jericho had found the spies in her house, immediately she would have lost her life. But her hope was to be saved through the spies of Israel. She committed her own life and future into their hands. Hence, at issue is not good works or bad works, but having faith or not having faith. It is faith that justifies. Although James says that Rahab was justified by works, her works were but a manifestation of her faith.
Verse 26 says, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." Our spirit resides inside our body. Hence, we can say that our spirit is the spirit of our body. We say that evil spirits are spirits that have left their body, for they are without a body. There is a kind of work that requires faith and must be linked to faith. There is a kind of work that comes out from faith and that issues from faith. If faith is without works, it is dead in the same way that a body without a spirit is dead. Hence, we are saved through faith, we are justified through faith, and we also receive life through faith. Although there are many different ways to express faith, the source is still faith. Some express it by forsaking their profession. Others express it by not following in the footsteps of their parents. Still others express it by not going along with their husband in certain things or by forsaking their position. There are all kinds of expressions of faith. The question is not good or bad works, but faith. What James is saying is that when the opportunity arises, our faith should be expressed.
Hence, we cannot say that salvation is of works. Hebrews 6:1 mentions the word of the beginning of the Christ. The foundation of the word of Christ is repentance from dead works. What is repentance from dead works? It is repentance from what we have done when we were dead. In the Bible, there are two things that we have to repent for. One is sin. The other is dead works. Everything that is wrong morally is a sin and a transgression. If a man believes in the Lord, he must surely repent and deal with these sins. Furthermore, we must also hate and repent for what we did as dead persons. What are these dead works? They are all the good works that we were able to do by ourselves before we were saved, before we became the children of God, before we received the new life, and before we became a new race. One sees his sins and transgressions for what they are. But one does not see the things that he considers moral and noble as things to be repented of. God says that these are dead works. They were performed when we were dead. We must repent for all these works, not depending on them for salvation.
When we are saved, there are two great repentances. One is repentance for all the things that should not have been done. But when someone understands the gospel and sees the complete work of the cross of the Son of God, he repents for the other things also, which are all the good works that he has formerly done. Formerly, we tried our best to do good, as if God would save us if He were only impressed enough by our good works. Today, however, we have become Christians. We must not only repent for our sins; we have to repent for our dead works as well. Hence, dead works cannot help us to be saved. You may say that one should believe in the Lord Jesus, but one should also have good works. But God sees you as a torn rag. The righteousness that God gives us far exceeds the righteousness of the law. Hence, if we want to come to God, not only must we not bring our sins along, we also must not bring our works along. If we wish to talk about works, then our works must be as perfect as Christ's are before God, before they can be acceptable.

Alwaystrue: Thanks @ichuka.
I like the way you ended it and i think it also gives a nice summary to what i have been saying on this section too. The law shows us where we are wrong (by conviction of the Holy Spirit) so Jesus saves us and Grace helps us. Our need for Jesus is continuous that is why we keep looking into the mirror of His word till we become fully transformed liinto His image. That is why we can walk in bodly to obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need because our spirit and flesh are in a constant battle as Paul said.
Anytime we walk according to the dictates of our flesh, we come under the law and need to run to Jesus for mercy and his grace helps us. Even the bible said where sin abounds, grace abounds the more.
As you can see Grace teaches us to say No to ungodliness so as sin increases, we receive more grace to say no.

Where I have issues is where some claim even if we sin as Christians, it does not matter, there is no need for repentance or asking for forgiveness. And that is why we now have people who sin willfully and say there is no repercurssion to such sins. Well Hebrews has a message for those who believe once saved, always saved below. Salvation is continuous as long as we remain with Jesus else:

Hebrews 10:26
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.
27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us


It is summed up as if after we have recieved the grace to help us to say No to ungodliness by the knowledge of the truth but we still delibrately go ahead to sin claiming we are covered by grace, the above is what happens.

May the Lord Jesus help us live continually in Him.

1John1:8 says "if WE(Christains) say we have no sin(since we re still in the fresh)we decieve ourselves,and the TRUTH IS NOT IN US"
will explain later,got to go now
thanks

ayoku777: Very true write-up. Unfortunately those who will argue will still argue.

True bro,
but arguing constructively with Love i believe is our way forward.
thanks and remain bless.