"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Hebrews 10:36

Proverbs 4:23 "Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life." SPIRITUAL GROWTH 2 PETER 1:3-8 God has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises (By God's glory and excellence) in order that by them, you might become partakers of God's divine nature. Growth comes by faith in God's promises. As you read the Bible, take note of what God quickens to your spirit. Commit it to prayer and rely on God to back up His Word. God has promised us a new life and the power to live according to His will. As we live this new life in Christ, other promises come to life. In fact, whatever God said in the Bible is a promise. What He speaks to us He will perform as we look to Him in faith. This is why reading the Bible is so important. Faith comes from hearing God speak to us. (Rom. 10:17) To our faith we should add diligence. Isaiah 37:32 says the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Zeal is the excitement that causes us to work even when we are tired. You will never find the time to be spiritual; you must take the time. Zeal will take time for God. Diligence uses spiritual force to take the Kingdom. The violent take the Kingdom of heaven by force. (Matt. 11:12) This has the connotation of believing prayer until the answer comes through. The force of Christianity is faith working through love. To fight in faith is to look at the promises and not to consider the present situation as the final outcome. Jesus rose up a great while before day and went out into a solitary place and there prayed. This is praying through. This is the diligence that accomplishes what needs to get done. It takes time, when no one else is around, to know the mind of God. Don't wait to pray when you feel like it. God's Spirit will never take control; you must give it control by your spirit. Paul said that he prayed without ceasing. The battle is in the Spirit and is fought in our mind. To pray always is to always be in the battle. To have the mind of prayer to touch God and to be with God is to defeat Satan. Diligence is serving God without looking back. What is looking back? It is questioning if we should continue serving God. It is savoring the things of the world. Can we have something for ourselves? Or is the cross of Christ and discipleship a total commitment? God is not pleased with us if we look back. We are to seek out what is pleasing to Him. (2 Cor. 5:9) Diligence is taking God right into the teeth of the enemy. Why can't we just go where it is easy? (2 Tim. 2:3,4) We have been called into the world. (Matt. 28:18-20) The gates of hell will not prevail against the Lord's anointed. (Matt. 16:18) Diligence is having the audacity of believing that what God has said to us is actually true. (Jn. 6:29) How can we not believe God? When we look at what the Lord has done for the people of faith in the Bible, we see that God was faithful to bring them through their trials. We can also look at what God has done for us; He can be trusted to come through for us again. (Psalm 121) Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life. We should be diligent to watch the spiritual condition of our heart. Do we enjoy reading the Bible? Do we pray for the needs of that which the Lord has put on our heart? When under trials do we speak the things pleasing to the Lord, or do we embarrass ourselves by what we say? These are signs of the Spirit working or not working in our lives. If you don't have my study on watching over your heart, write me for a copy and I will send you one. The Christian life is not so much intellect as it is relationship. Diligence comes as we look for Christ to return. Folks, it's rapture season. The Lord is coming back any day. (1 Jn. 3:2,3; James 5:8; Luke 12:35-48) Moral excellence is doing the best thing possible in the situation. The NIV calls it goodness. The Amplified says: virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy). It is living a life according to the commands of the Lord and not being deceitful to others. It is right thoughts as well as right actions. Moral excellence will choose the uplifting things. Many say that one should be educated before getting involved in Christian service. But remember the Christian life is not so much intellect as it is relationship. Serving God under mature Christians allows us to grow and see the need for more in depth study. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) Spiritual knowledge increases and solidifies our faith. It gives us peace with our conscience because we know that God has taken care of the mistakes of the past. Knowledge is important in advancing the disciple in the work of the ministry. We are to seek the wisdom of God and not riches. If we seek God through the study of the Scriptures, we will see a more excellent way than the natural way of the world of partying or working to increase our portfolio. To move up in ministry we should study. We study to be approved. (2 Tim. 2:15) It is important to remember that the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us spiritual knowledge. (1 Cor. 2:12) Believe God to teach you. One time when I was living in Oregon I felt that I was "out of it" and it was a waste of time to study the Bible. Then a thought came to me to study the Bible in faith and see what God would teach me when I was "out of it". I received from God not long after. I sat down at my desk and was thoroughly rewarded in the Spirit by the things that I received. This was a revelation to me. I did not have to wait till I felt like I was in the Spirit to study the Bible! I could go to God in prayer and ask for His grace to teach me even if I didn't feel like it or deserved to learn from Him, as if there was any time that I deserved to learn. You rise no higher than your expectations so consider what the Word says about you and what you think of your self. Hope (hope is what faith is built on) is looking with great expectation for the the promises to become real. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. (Ps. 119:105) Self Control is the hardest step to take, because it involves stopping the old habits of the flesh. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 gives an example for self control. Paul had an aim in view. He wanted to preach the Gospel without being disqualified. He wanted to be able to preach without the hindrances of the flesh. Without self control we could not be effective spiritually. That is what Paul is talking about by beating the air. Train your body to serve instead of serving your body. (Phil. 3:18,19) "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:14) Training by self denial. Training by making God priority number one. Self denial for the priority of serving God. What is Paul talking about by buffeting his body? The deeds of the flesh fulfill our bodies desires. To buffet our body is to train it to want other things. If you can't control your will you can't control your life in the spirit. "Like a city broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit." (Prov. 25:28) If you can't control your tongue, you can't control your spirit. (James 3:2) Another aspect to spiritual conditioning is the idea of putting off the things that would hinder us from serving along with sin and press on to Jesus. (Heb. 12:1,2) The way to serve is not to dwell on what you can't do but to look to Jesus in all that we can do. Romans 8 explains the victorious Christian life calling it the law of the Spirit. We are set free from the law of sin and death by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:2) For sin will not be master over us for we are not under law but under grace. (Rom. 6:14) We do what our mind is set on doing, "for those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5) But where does this life come from that will enable us to stop living for the desires of the flesh? It comes from the same power of God that raised Jesus from the dead, through the Holy Spirit that indwells us. (Rom. 6:4) Prayer with thankfulness and meditation on the Word will bring the peace of the Spirit within our soul. (Phil. 4:6-9) God will give us a way out. (1 Cor. 10:13) Don't struggle against sin, repent and ask for His infilling power. In our self-control perseverance. We don't want to hear about perseverance; we want instant gratification. But perseverance is what puts power to faith, and can be an expression of love. In a sense it is the proof that we do have faith. To rely on God is what He wants. By our endurance we will gain our lives. (Luke 21:19) The promise of God comes as we endure. (Heb. 10:36) "Blessed is a man who perserveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) Hope comes from the Scriptures as we persevere in serving God. "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4) If during the endurance we wonder why we are going through this, ask for wisdom and God will reveal His purpose. (James 1:5) A lot of times the blessing is lost if we fail to give praise to God during the trial. God blesses praise and worship. Does He ever bless murmuring? If we haven't learned to rejoice in the trial we haven't learned the lesson. This is not to mean that we can't express sorrow in trials. (Philippians 4:6-9) shows us the way of peace. Which consists of 1) prayer 2) supplication 3) thanksgiving 4) meditation on what uplifts and 5) follow the example of the Scriptures. But how do we endure? (Heb. 12:1,2) gives a good answer. Remember those that have run before us and look to Jesus as we run now. Endurance is solidified by the fact that we have a foundation of salvation and diligence in our service. We have learned about Jesus, have served him diligently and have experienced the life of faith and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Endurance is working toward the goal of the future. It is living to please the Lord. And to your endurance godliness. Godliness is living as God would live. To follow the example of Jesus as He lived to serve others and not Himself. He served as an example such as washing the disciples feet. (Jn. 13:4-17) He gave up His rights and the good life in heaven so that He could live with man to save us from our sins. (Phil. 2:6-8) To live godly then is to follow the steps of Jesus and live for the benefit of others. To live godly is not to be swayed by the way your peers live, but to be swayed according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived according to the direction of God and not according to His own ideas. (Jn. 5:19) Kindness is to care for others as we would for ourselves. Care for others as Christ would care for us. Be devoted to God in following the truth so that we will be devoted to others as an outwork of our devotion to God. We should be harmonious, sympathetic, and humble in spirit towards others. Rom. 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, i.e. give preference to one another in honor;" Jn. 13:34 We are to love one another as Christ has loved us. Heb. 13:1 "Let love of the brethren continue." 1 Pt. 1:22 "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren fervently love one another from the heart," 1 Pt. 3:8 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;" Phil. 2:3,4 look out for others as well as yourself. Christian love! Love is patient, kind, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, belives all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails. Love isn't jealous, doesn't brag, isn't arrogant, doesn't act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered and doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness. Christian love yokes itself with Jesus and pulls with Him to gain the victory. (Matt. 11:28-30) Christian love does not look at oneself but at others to see what he can do for them. A good example of this is Paul who said by the Spirit, "For now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord." (1 Thes. 3:8) Paul lived his life for others. He kept his eyes on the Lord and built his treasure in heaven. Love is not first an emotion or a feeling. First love is a decision to give. For God so loved the world that He gave ..." (John 3:16) Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. (Eph. 5:25) As we give, then feelings and emotions will follow. Love is something that one does for another. Has God led us by faith into some gifting? Then let us start by being diligent in serving Him in that area. Let us serve Him in the best way we can both with our actions and by our attitudes. Let us learn everything we can about this ministry both from the Biblical standpoint and from a practical standpoint. Let us exercise self-control in our ministry so that we will be able to serve effectively and not be a discredit to the body. Let us persevere in our ministry so that we may overcome the enemy and gain the victory that God wants to give us as we serve Him. Let us serve as Christ would serve, considering others and looking out for their interests. Let us be harmonious, sympathetic, humble and kind towards those we work for and with. Let us give of ourselves, to others as if it were to Christ and be ready for our Masters return. "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8) Water From The Rock Bible Study - - -Scott McCrae Home | Back to Top

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