Your Foundation in Christ (Victory Series Book #3): Live By the Power of the Spirit by Neil T. Anderson
Authors: Neil T. Anderson
Tags: REL012120
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resolve?
The second step is to ask God to reveal the true source of your fears. What did God show you that you are actually afraid of? What is controlling your life?
The third step is to determine how your fear has affected your life. How have your fears prevented you from living a responsible life? How have they served to compromise your witness for Christ?
The fourth step is to face your fear. What plan—with the help of the Holy Spirit—will you put into place to begin to overcome your fears?
Who are some people in your life who can help you through this process? Make a point to seek them out to help you identify the source of your fears and take the first step toward resolving them.
We are persecuted when God allows the tempter the power to persecute us. But when God does not want us to suffer this, even in the world that hates us, we wonderously have peace and are of good cheer, because of Him who said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And truly He has overcome the world, because the world is strong only insofar as its Victor wants it to be. He has received from the Father the victory over the world. And because of His victory we can indeed be of good cheer.
Origen (AD 184–253)
The Sin of Rebellion
The Bible is an historical account of humankind’s propensity to rebel. Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden. Cain rebelled against the teachings of God. All the ancient people were in rebellion except Noah,and their rebellious acts resulted in the flood. The people were rebellious again when they built the Tower of Babel, which caused God to scatter them throughout the land. Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses. Lot rebelled against Abraham. Esau rebelled against Jacob. Absalom rebelled against David. The whole world is in rebellion against God. We were all rebellious by nature, and even as believers we are continuously tempted to do it our way.
The seriousness of rebellion can be illustrated by the life of Saul, the first king of Israel. God had given clear instructions to Saul: “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out” (1 Samuel 15:18). However, Saul decided on his own to keep some of the spoils of war and spare the life of Agag, the Amalekite king (see verses 20–21). He tried to justify his actions to Samuel, but the prophet replied, “Does the L ORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the L ORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry” (verses 22–23).
Rebellion may be humanity’s worst sin. Saul rebelled because he feared the people more than God (see verse 24), and he decided for himself how he was going to worship Him. Like Saul, we may not see our own rebellion, which is more an attitude than an action. Rebellion is a problem of the heart. Standing up on the outside while sitting down on the inside will not escape God’s notice, for He looks on the heart. God is not pleased with just going through the motions of worship. David came to that understanding after his sin with Bathsheba: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17).
Session Four
Godly Relationships
If you see a tall fellow ahead of the crowd, a leader of music, marching fearless and proud, and you know of a tale whose mere telling aloud would cause his proud head to in anguish be bowed, it’s a pretty good plan to forget it.
If you know of a skeleton hidden away in a closet, and guarded and kept from the day in the dark; whose showing, whose sudden display would cause grief and sorrow and lifelong dismay, it’s a pretty good plan to forget it.
If you know of a
The second step is to ask God to reveal the true source of your fears. What did God show you that you are actually afraid of? What is controlling your life?
The third step is to determine how your fear has affected your life. How have your fears prevented you from living a responsible life? How have they served to compromise your witness for Christ?
The fourth step is to face your fear. What plan—with the help of the Holy Spirit—will you put into place to begin to overcome your fears?
Who are some people in your life who can help you through this process? Make a point to seek them out to help you identify the source of your fears and take the first step toward resolving them.
We are persecuted when God allows the tempter the power to persecute us. But when God does not want us to suffer this, even in the world that hates us, we wonderously have peace and are of good cheer, because of Him who said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And truly He has overcome the world, because the world is strong only insofar as its Victor wants it to be. He has received from the Father the victory over the world. And because of His victory we can indeed be of good cheer.
Origen (AD 184–253)
The Sin of Rebellion
The Bible is an historical account of humankind’s propensity to rebel. Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden. Cain rebelled against the teachings of God. All the ancient people were in rebellion except Noah,and their rebellious acts resulted in the flood. The people were rebellious again when they built the Tower of Babel, which caused God to scatter them throughout the land. Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses. Lot rebelled against Abraham. Esau rebelled against Jacob. Absalom rebelled against David. The whole world is in rebellion against God. We were all rebellious by nature, and even as believers we are continuously tempted to do it our way.
The seriousness of rebellion can be illustrated by the life of Saul, the first king of Israel. God had given clear instructions to Saul: “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out” (1 Samuel 15:18). However, Saul decided on his own to keep some of the spoils of war and spare the life of Agag, the Amalekite king (see verses 20–21). He tried to justify his actions to Samuel, but the prophet replied, “Does the L ORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the L ORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry” (verses 22–23).
Rebellion may be humanity’s worst sin. Saul rebelled because he feared the people more than God (see verse 24), and he decided for himself how he was going to worship Him. Like Saul, we may not see our own rebellion, which is more an attitude than an action. Rebellion is a problem of the heart. Standing up on the outside while sitting down on the inside will not escape God’s notice, for He looks on the heart. God is not pleased with just going through the motions of worship. David came to that understanding after his sin with Bathsheba: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17).
Session Four
Godly Relationships
If you see a tall fellow ahead of the crowd, a leader of music, marching fearless and proud, and you know of a tale whose mere telling aloud would cause his proud head to in anguish be bowed, it’s a pretty good plan to forget it.
If you know of a skeleton hidden away in a closet, and guarded and kept from the day in the dark; whose showing, whose sudden display would cause grief and sorrow and lifelong dismay, it’s a pretty good plan to forget it.
If you know of a
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