VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 08:11:40 02/10/17 Fri
Author: c
Subject: Teachings 11

Teachings 11


Rick Warren

How do you develop spiritual roots? There are two ways: a daily time with God and a weekly small group time with other believers. You’ve got to spend time alone with God, and you’ve got to spend time with other believers.

If you’re not spending time with God on a daily basis, you’re going to dry up and blow away when the pressure is on. You won’t be able to handle it. You’ve got to make time to listen during a daily time with God. You have to sit and be quiet. You have to read the Bible and talk to God. Play some music. If you like to journal, do that. Whatever it takes to keep the focus on God, do it!

You’ve also got to have a weekly small group. Nobody has a complete perspective on life. Every one of us has blinders on. The people in your small group can see things in your life you can’t see. That’s why we need each other! You learn from the people in your small group as you encourage each other and your roots go deeper.


-----------------------------


Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.


---------------------------------------=


intouch.org radio 2/26/14. Summarized – not direct quotes


The Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are sufficient, yet the Bible instructs christians to go further than just prayer and to also share our burdens with other people (Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ). We should share burdens since that is a principle laid out in the Bible.

"God chooses to use human beings oftentimes to do for us what He knows we need...We should always talk to Him first....God has all kinds of ways of helping us. And one of the ways He has to help us is through somebody else".


----------------


The Christian life is not a question of rules or relationship, but rules based on relationship. It’s morality because of intimacy with God. When you understand that, you’ll trust whatever God asks of you.


-----------------------=


From the cross to Pentecost

by TD Jakes

p 144

God will allow certain things to happen in our lives that we don't understand when it happens, but He will use it for His purpose. I'm talking about negative things-about things that make us weak, about things that wrench our hearts and tear at our guts. I mean things that make us cry, "This is not fair, this is not right!" Know that our God is a Strategist; He moves by methodology. God has structure and order, and when something crazy happens and it makes no sense, it is a sign that in the bigger scheme of things, "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

p 148

In our own lives, this means that even our bondages have a purpose with God. Sometimes God won't let us move.. He allows us to be tied up, because He is going to get some glory out of our affliction. "I can't move the way I want to move, Lord." "I can't afford what I used to be able to afford, Lord." "I don't have the help the way I would like to, Lord." That's all right! The bondages are in the plot not to hinder our lives, but for the complete realization of our lives.

p 159

He's a movement. He's progressive. He's flowing. Our God is alive and always moving (Genesis 1:2)....walking with God is a moving thing, a growing thing, a developing thing.

p 162

So how do we do that? We don't have an altar on which to be tied. How does God offer us up? Through the things in our lives that we are tied to, that hurt us, and that break our will. It might be that a difficult marriage is the place of our sacrifice. Or the job that is driving us crazy. We asked God to change something in our lives, but He didn't remove it because He is using it as the place of a living sacrifice. It might be the relationship with a child that won't get better and won't change that has humbled us and brought us to our knees, that has made us weep and cry, that has made us pray and seek God. God says, "I want you to understand what I am trying to raise you. This is the place of your sacrifice."

Every one of us has something in our lives we are tied to that breaks our heart. God uses that place in our lives so we can legitimately be a priest unto God and say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). There is something that God left in our lives amidst all of His other blessings, that one thing that doesn't work in our lives-the priesthood is the place of our sacrifice, where we smile through our tears. Every believer is living his or her life in one area or another as a living sacrifice.

Perhaps you have never been more spiritually alive in your life, but when it comes to that "thing," you are tied up. You may have rebuked the devil and stood against the enemy, but you are still tied-it's because it is not a devil that has you tied. God has given you something to keep you on your knees, to keep you humble. And if you can be tied and still worship, if you can be lonely and still worship, if you can go through tests and trials and embarrassment and pain and still worship, if you can lift your hands and say hallelujah, if you can say yes to God with tears....then you are beginning to be just a little bit like Jesus, Who said, "Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

p 171

When Paul talks about the wisdom of God, it is so awesome that it includes the plots of our enemies. That means God included the hatred of our enemies toward us in His plan. Rather than God warring against our enemies' plots and plans, He uses them to push us closer into our destinies, so we can say, "It was good for us that they hated us, because their hatred helped us get into a place where God wanted us to be."

p 172-173

We need a Judas in our lives. We need a high priest who is sabotaging our lives, because God has included it in the quilt of our destinies. God, as the Master Planner, is careful to implement what our enemies mean for evil and make it for good. If you have been called according to the purpose of the Master's mysterious plan, it's all working for your good.

p 173

Stop wishing you were someone else and thank the Lord that He has a master strategy that is shaping your life.

p 174-175

The same is true in our lives. Some people seem determined to make our lives difficult, yet God uses their attitude to showcase us, to position us. He uses someone's criticism to keep us uncomfortable, so we won't settle into mediocrity. He uses their malice to bring out our best, because, sometimes it is a fact that other people's hate makes us stronger and better and more perfected in what we do.

God has a strategy, a plan that supersedes all the plans of those who come against us. He considered their plots when He made the plan, and He made their plots serve His plan. While they don't know God's plan for us, they also don't know that God knows about their plots against us; and He is working it all together to maneuver us to the place we need to be for the good of His own purpose.

p 191

But now the Holy Spirit is not visiting anymore; now He is indwelling. He abides with us forever. Whether or not we, as believers, feel Him, He is with us. Whether or not we sense Him, He is there.

p 192

Let us remind ourselves that if we are walking in victory and faith, it is not because of our own strength. As long as the Spirit of God is in the earth, even while we sleep, the Spirit of God is restraining the enemy. God is fighting for us in ways we can never even imagine....(2 Chronicles 20:15,17). If you ever get that sense that something or someone was fighting for you, and you wonder how you made it through a certain circumstance, the Lord brought you through! The Holy Ghost has been fighting for you all your life! You should give God a praise offering!

p 193-194

If you haven't been filled with the Holy Spirit, God will fill you! If you have been filled, but you haven't been letting Him reign, let Him reign! You must go from Passover to Pentecost! Stop fighting these battles with your flesh! This is too much for you! You need to loose the power of the Holy Spirit and let Him fight for you. God wants to give you rest, and He wants to work for you.

p 194

As long as you continue to try to do God's work, He cannot work in your life until you rest. Then the Holy Spirit can constrain you to move into the life abundantly He has planned for you...and restrains the enemy from destroying all that God has ordained for you. The Holy Spirit is fighting for you!


p 209

In Genesis 1:2, God is using the imagery of brooding to help us understand the movement of the Holy Spirit. It helps us understand that all that God would hatch, all that God would create, all that God would stir, and all that God would develop is not done instantly, like passing through a drive through at McDonald's. With the Holy Spirit, there is lingering, developing, warming, birthing of a relationship in which we stay in the presence of the Lord. And when we linger in His presence by staying up under His Word, God begins to do things. Thus when the Holy Spirit works in our lives, this is an expression or symbol of how He does it.

p 225

God wants your cup to overflow with His presence! So stand up, open your mouth, and give God the praise! When you praise Him from your heart, He will fill you up! If you forget about yourself, come out of your pride, and stop worrying about what you heard or what you thought, then out of your belly will flow rivers of living waters! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! And don't stop!

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've gotten. This is your time to get....mind renewing touch from the living God! It's real!


-------------------------


Praise God for the Frosts - Melvin L. Yoder

Beside the Still Waters 12/3/13


A young man was trying to grow peaches. He worked hard and invested much money in his young orchard. The trees blossomed nicely, but then came a hard frost. The young man did not go to church the next three Sundays. When the minister visited him to find out the reason, the young man exclaimed, "I am not coming anymore! Do you think I can worship a God Who cares so little for me that He will let a frost kill all my peaches?"

The old minister looked at him a few moments in silence, then said kindly, "God cares for you more than He does for your peaches. He knows that peaches do better without frosts. But He also knows that it is impossible to grow the best men without frost. His objective is to grow men."

The last few years have been a struggle for many. As property values suddenly dropped and savings diminished, many have found themselves in financial distress. For some it meant losing their homes or businesses, resulting in a devastating and seemingly hopeless situation. Others see it in a completely different light. They realize that it is difficult for God to grow the best quality men without some hard frosts. Let us remember that God would much rather see great men than great estates.

A frost may come in the form of a lost business or valuable asset. It may come as the loss of a loved one in death or the loss of a treasured relationship with someone. If you have felt the chill of a killing frost in your life, praise God. He is in the business of growing great men and women for His Kingdom.

Look for something beautiful in everything God allows in your life.


---------


intouch.org TV Broadcast 11/16/14


God uses life’s trials to accomplish His secondary purposes.

Although we may never know the specific reason for each difficulty in our lives, we can know the Lord’s secondary purposes.

- To surface whatever is detrimental in our lives.

We may have beliefs, attitudes, or actions, which are not only hurting us but are also damaging our relationship with God and with others. Since we’re usually unaware of them, the Lord uses pain to get our attention so we’ll recognize and deal with them. God loves us too much to let us blindly continue down this destructive path. His goal is to cleanse us by revealing our sin and drawing us to confession and repentance.

- To test our faith.

When we were saved, our faith was rather basic and childlike. We didn’t know much, but we knew Jesus had died for us. However, since our Heavenly Father considers faith more precious than gold, He wants us to grow and trust Him for more than our salvation (1 Pet. 1:7). To understand how He tests our faith, let’s compare it to muscle strengthening. We begin by lifting small weights and gradually increase the difficulty by adding heavier ones. In the same way, God grows our faith through situations that increase the pressure and require greater trust. For instance, it’s fairly easy to trust Him to heal a cold, but what happens when we face a serious illness, a financial crisis, unemployment, or the loss of a loved one? When we walk through each trial depending on the Lord, our faith increases. Then when a harder challenge comes, we can remember how He led us previously and know He will lead us the rest of the way.

- To test our devotion to God.

Commitment to the Lord is revealed by our willingness to obey Him. When He gives us a challenging situation, which seems beyond our ability, we must choose whether to obey His will or go our own way. He’s given us His Spirit to enable and strengthen us to accomplish whatever He’s calling us to do. The apostle Paul was willing to endure his “thorn in the flesh” because the Lord promised to strengthen Him and use it to produce the humility he needed for continued ministry (2 Cor. 12:7-10). We don’t need to understand all God is doing; we just have to obey and watch Him work.

The Lord’s primary purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son.


--------------------------=


Charles Stanley

Believe and Rejoice

In order to have the proper response to trials in our lives, we must always remember:


• God controls their length and intensity.

• the Father has specific purposes for everything we experience.

• the Lord designed each challenge to meet a specific need in our lives.

• God will cause our trials to produce good, positive results in us if we respond in obedience.

• through trials, God strengthens our faith.

• Difficulties are opportunities for us to demonstrate perseverance under pressure.

• through challenges, God develops Christlike character within us.

• the hardships we face help us measure our spiritual walk with God.

• the Father will be with us through every situation to accomplish His good.

• God will always help us overcome our circumstances if we trust Him.


-------


intouch.org radio 4/29/15


Barometer for Christian growth


1. Growing hunger for the Heavenly Father
2. Hunger to know more about the holy Word of truth
3. Growing awareness of flaw areas in yourself
4. Responding to sin quickly through repentance
5. Relying on the Holy Spirit more and more
6. Our spiritual battles become more intense yet we’re still joyful
7. We view trials and temptations more and more as situations for growth
8. View service for Jesus as a high honor
9. View blessings and trials as coming from the Heavenly Father – trusting more – the Heavenly Father allowed the trial to reach you
10. Our faith grows stronger – we trust more for bigger requests
11. Obedience becomes more important than sin
12. More inclined to testify about Christian life. Help others more
13. Give more to church
14. More aware of the presence of the holy Heavenly Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit – in all situations/times
15. Praying becomes a priority. Peaceful moments of meditation becomes a priority
16. Become more content about intimacy – Peaceful meditation moments while aware of the Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
17. More and more make decisions influenced by Heavenly Father and Jesus
18. Increasing awareness of the love of the Heavenly Father and Jesus
19. More and more focused on Jesus Christ


------------


Spiritual Maturity vs. Growing in faith


intouch.org Radio. 1/30/14. When we feel burned out. Part 2, 2:30 minutes in. Summarized - not direct quotes

What is spiritual maturity?

Read the Bible everyday?

Pray everyday?

Tithe?

The things that used to bother you, tempt you, frustrate you, cause you to lose your temper don’t anymore?

Flesh under control?

Ability to juggle troubles?

Everything is in order?


Nothing could be further from the truth. We all have the capacity to sin.

If saints could control our flesh, we wouldn’t need Jesus.



Maturity is realizing:


“I can’t change myself- therefore I must rely on Jesus, I must depend on Jesus everyday for everything" (not self-improvement).


Trust Jesus to do through me what He knows I cannot do


intouch.org Radio 2/8/14. When our faith wavers. Part 2, 19:17 minutes in. Summarized – not direct quotes

The longer you live the christian life, the stronger your faith ought to be. You should be growing in faith.

You should know the Heavenly Father is in control (Romans 8:28).

Fewer and fewer things should upset you

Fewer and fewer things should challenge you

Fewer and fewer things should cause you to doubt.


?????????????????????????????????????????????


----------------------=


intouch.org Daily devotion

MEASURING FOR GROWTH

JUNE 02, 2016


Ephesians 4:14-16

As believers, we should constantly strive to grow closer to God (Ephesians 4:15). When He is the Lord of our life, certain characteristics will be evident in us. I’ve compiled a brief inventory of spiritual benchmarks to help you evaluate your progress. But remember, the items below are just a place to start; see the Bible for a complete growth chart!

We know we’re growing spiritually when we become increasingly aware of our sinfulness and weakness. Biographies of godly saints show they don’t “get better” with age and spiritual maturity. Instead, they become ever more sensitive to their dependence upon the Lord. Also, progress is apparent when we respond to sin with quick repentance. Failure to deal with sin is rebellion against God. Growing believers turn away from wrongdoing and embrace righteousness. As we live with the good results of dependence and repentance, our desire to obey God intensifies, and the attraction of sin lessens.

Spiritual growth is also marked by an increase in two things—joy and struggle. Faith is often developed through hardship because living out the principles of trust and endurance helps us see the connection and grasp how it works. So our relationship with God will deepen when we view trials and temptations as opportunities for us to mature.

Paul, David, and Daniel prove that adversity can help form spiritual giants. These men recognized sovereign God as the gatekeeper of their lives. We are maturing when we perceive whatever comes our way as being from Him, which also means that He’s working it for good (Romans 8:28).


--------------------------------------=


intouch.org Daily devotion 10/8/15

When the Odds Are Against You

Judges 7:1-7


Have you ever felt backed into a corner, with the odds stacked against you? In situations like that, Christians too often refuse to acknowledge an important truth. That is, they fail to recognize that God may actually be orchestrating their challenging circumstances.

You may think, No way. God protects me from such things. The world and satan are doing this to me. Perhaps. Yet maybe, just maybe, God is trying to tell you something—and He first needs to get your attention.

Time and again in Scripture, we see that the Lord uses difficulties to build our faith. It’s easy to trust Him when things go our way. However, God often removes comforts and false securities from our lives to remind us that He is the true source of our strength.

Consider today’s passage, in which Gideon was ready to lead a powerful militia of 32,000 men into battle against the enemy. However, the Lord stepped into the situation two different times, whittling the Israelite army down to less than one percent of its original size. We may have replied, “What? It’s impossible to defeat enemy forces with just 300 men!” That’s probably true; 300 men alone couldn’t do it. But the Lord could.

When the odds are not in your favor, don’t think that God has abandoned you. Your money, your success, and even people you thought were friends may disappear, but those wouldn’t win the battle anyway. Stand your ground and stay focused on the Lord. With everything else stripped away, you’ll be amazed at what your heavenly Father will achieve.


-------------=


2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.

2 Chronicles 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.