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| Spiritual Truth Awakening Don't Give the Devil a Ride, Because He Might want to Drive. |
| Chapter 1: Born Again Chapter 2: Faith Chapter 3: Keeping Your Faith Chapter 4: The Book Of Galatians Chapter 5: Sin |
Chapter 6: What Goes Around
Comes Around Chapter 7: The Faith Of David Chapter 8: Spiritual Gifts Chapter 9: Basic Christian Doctrines Chapter 10: The Lifestyle Of John The Baptist |
Chapter 11: The Lifestyle Of
Jesus Chapter 12: Hypocrites and Pharisees Chapter 13: The Teaching of Paul Chapter 14: Charity and Judgment |
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By
R. J. Adams
First
Edition 1995 Copyright (c) 1995 R. J.
Adams All rights reserved
All scripture verses are quoted from the New International Version unless otherwise stated. Used by permission. The Holy Bible: New International Version, published by Zondervan Bible Publishers, copyright 1984 by the International Bible Society. Preface
"Men And Brethren, What Shall We Do"? Acts 2:41-42 KJV then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:45-47 KJV and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And theLlord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The time for hesitation is past. Now is the time for all who name the name of Christ to answer the call to actionby living victoriously through the power of the Holy Spirit. All scripture verses are quoted from the new international version unless otherwise stated. Used by permission. The Holy Bible: new international version, published by Zondervan Bible publishers, copyright 1984 by the international Bible society. Note: Note: Please excuse the capitalization errors. Some of the formatting from the original MS Word documents did not transfer over to the web pages when they were cut and pasted in. If I have time before I die or the Lord returns, I'll fix it all. RJA
Spiritual
Truth Awakening
Chapter
1: Born Again
Jesus taught that another name for the spiritual awakening of a person's mind was to be "born again." This is,indeed, an accurate description of what happens to a person'sthought processes when God opens their mind to understand the truth. All things become new. It is like turning on a lightin a completely dark room. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. John 3:1-3 NIV now there was a man of the pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came toJesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform themiraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one cansee the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person was "born again," he would never see the kingdom of God. John 3:4-7 NIV "how can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless heis born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'you must be born again.' Many people have misunderstood John 3:5 because they believe it means that a person must be baptized to become a Christian. Jesus explained what he is speaking about in the very next verse. He is talking about human birth, which takesplace before you can be born again. Being born of water refers to human birth, to being surrounded by a water-like fluid when a child is yet in it's mother's womb. You must of course be born, before you can be "born again." Being born of the spirit refers to the time in a person's life when God places his Spirit in them and opens their mind to understand spiritual truth. John 3:8-12 NIV the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? Jesus chided Nicodemus for his inability to understand what he was talking about in John 3:7-10. Although Jesus was using new terminology to describe the conversion experience, as a teacher of the law, Nicodemus should have beenable to understand it. All of the saved from the creation of Adam had been "born again"; but in the old testament it was simply called "walking with God" or "knowing theLord." Genesis 5:22 & 24 NIV and after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more,because God took him away. Genesis 6:9 NIV this is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Deuteronomy 34:9-10 NIV now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the Spirit of Wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what theLord had commanded Moses. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 1 Samuel3:7 NIV now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Judges 2:10 NIV After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Nicodemus had not had the experience of "knowing the Lord", or being "born again", so he could not understand the words of Jesus; and yet, he was a teacher of the law. John 3:13-18 KJV and no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemnedalready, because he hath not believed in the name of the onlybegotten Son of God. Jesus goes on to tell Nicodemus the gospel in a nutshell, which Nicodemus later understood and believed when he was"born again". Being born again is not joining a church, being baptized, undergoing some secret ritual initiation rites, turning over a new leaf, or being converted to another religion. Being born again is what happens when God puts his Spirit in you. Suddenly, you will begin to see things from a totally different viewpoint, God's viewpoint. 1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The natural man cannot understand spiritual things. He looks out at the world from inside himself. It is as if he were a horse with blinders on. He is able to see only a narrow path ahead of himself, like a person with tunnel vision. The spiritual man views things from a totally different perspective. He views things as though he were above the earth looking down on all of the foolishness occurring on the earth below. It is like a person who views an ant farm in a glass case or fish in an aquarium. The natural man views things like the ants or the fish, who are inside the glass case. The ant is unconscious of the fact that the tiny amount of space he is living in is not the whole world nor is the fish aware that the aquarium is not the entire ocean. In the same way the natural man cannot understand spiritual things, because they are spiritually discerned. If you cannot understand this, it may be because you are not receiving the assistance of the Holy Spirit of God within you to enable you understand it. To receive the Holy Spirit's assistance you need to come to the conclusion that God exists, believe that God sent Christ to pay for your sins, acknowledge that Jesus died foryour sins and is now seated at the right hand of God to intercede on your behalf, confess that Jesus is your Savior, and ask him to be merciful to you, a sinner. If you do this and believe it with all of your heart, God will, in a moment, transform you into a new creation. From that moment forward you will begin to see everything from anew vantage point, from the viewpoint of Christ. You will no longer live under the curse of not understanding, but willhave the capacity to begin to become the kind of person that God wants you to be. 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 NIV however, as it is written: "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of aman except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we mayunderstand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not inwords taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV "for who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. When Godputs his Spirit in you, he will give you the mind of Christ. This is not to say that you will have total knowledge or understanding of all things. What you will have is a new perception of good and evil. You will begin to understand what is right and what is wrong in God's sight. God will give you a desire to study his word and you will see all things from a new perspective. God doesnot normally put the Bible into a new Christians head like a person loading a program into a computer. WhatGod does is to enable you to begin to understand spiritual things when you study his word and related material. It isyour job to grow in knowledge and understanding by studying the Word of God. The TestOf Love There isanother test that you can give yourself to see if your conversion was real. That is the test of love. 1 John 4:7 NIV dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. If you are truly converted, you will have the love of God in you for other believers and for humanity in general; and you will prove it by your actions. To test yourself and see if you have a changed attitude, ask yourself this question. Do I truly love people or am I still prejudiced against others. If you have the love of God in your heart and prove it to yourself by your actions, then you can rest assured that your conversion was real. 1 John 3:17-18 NIV If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love withwords or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 4:20 (NIV)Iif anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. Many of those who claim to be Christians but are filled with hatred for other people, all prove one thing by their actions. They prove that they have not been truly converted, or at best that they are very carnal and immature in their Christian walk. This love for people must be coupled with faith in Christ for it to be true love--that love that comes from God. Anyone who truly loves God, which is what faith is all about, will also love Christ and other people. 1 John 4:11-15 NIV Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love ismade complete in us. We know that we live in him and hein us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testify that the father has sent his Son to be the Savior ofthe world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son ofGod, God lives in him and he in God. True faith in Christ will result in both love nd action. Some of the coldest and most unforgiving people you will ever meet are those who claim to be religious but are unconverted according to God's standard. These people are deceiving themselves into believing they are saved; but they prove by their actions that they do not have theSpirit of God in them. Their heart is still wicked. When you are able to understand spiritual things, have the love of God for other people in you, and are trusting only in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, you will know that you have truly been "born again" |
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