Progress in the Things of God

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September 26, 2004  A.D.


Progress in the Things of God

In this lesson Pastor Landis teaches some transforming power statements that the saints should often bring to mind that will assist us in an ever growing relationship with God the Father through His Only Begotten Son Jesus. Listen and learn a few things that will assure you to a path of progress in the things of God.

Old Testament Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:1 – 10  (NASB)
Isa 50:1 Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce, By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Isa 50:2 “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water, And die of thirst.

Isa 50:3 “I clothe the heavens with blackness, And I make sackcloth their covering.”

Isa 50:4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.

Isa 50:6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Isa 50:8 He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me.

Isa 50:9 Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.

Isa 50:10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

New Testament Scripture Reading: Acts 2:34 – 43  (NASB)
Acts 2:34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

Acts 2:35 UNTIL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR THY FEET.”‘

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ– this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:39 “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”

Acts 2:40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:43 And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Transforming Power Statements:Point #1) God is always faithful and never changes. Therefore, when there is no relationship or even a poor relationship rather than a fiery intense relationship the reason is always found on our part and correction must begin with a change of mind on our end.

Point #2) The flesh is set in opposition to the course of the born again lifestyle and therefore must constantly be placed in check based on the doctrine of the holy bible God’s word.

Point #3) Success in measuring our position in our relationship with God can only be based on growth over a period of time since the achievement of reaching total perfection is based on an ever growing revelation of the depths of human sin and which presses the goal of perfection ever higher.

Transforming Power Statements From: “Turning Aspiration into Inspiration”

Point #1) The benefits of the gospel of our salvation are the product of the fulfillment of the desires of God the Father that He chose to reveal to mankind through the prophetic word {The Law, The Prophets, The Psalms, & The Holy Writings} concerning the offering of His Only-begotten Son as full payment for the sins of all believers based solely on the merits of Christ Jesus in order to eliminate boasting on the part of any, and to display His great love and mercy as well as His righteousness, justice, and judgment.

Point #2) The advent of the “New Birth” that delivers us into perfect fellowship with God the Father through the atonement provided by the sacrifice of God the Son, awards us with the gift of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit Who increasingly produces in us simultaneously “holy aspirations & discontentment”. This new paradox of the will keeps the believer in tension between the aspiration to progress toward Christ-likeness (which he now sees and loves) and the desires of the past which war against their soul and even at times dominate the will of the Spirit of God within you and produces conviction.

Point #3) Every Christian must develop the ability through the study of the word to realize the truth and implications of the gospel that teach us that God has made peace with the world through the blood of Jesus Christ and He is waiting and willing to bring us closer in fellowship and blessing and that the obstacle to this closeness is always on our end not His.