Increasing In The Faith
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5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Are you increasing, growing, adding to your faith
Our spiritual influence grows proportional to your inner spiritual growth.
Our brightness grows, as we add to our faith.
Our witness will increase as we obey God and grow.
We cannot afford to walk in disobedience in any area
For what do you live?
What is your life purpose?
Do our goals rise above things that are temporal in this world?
Effective communicators of Eternal truth - that is our purpose as children of God
God is working in your life to mature you - even through adversity, questions, failures
Spiritual increase must be worked on with diligence.
Spiritual increase must be worked on with diligence.
Seeking God with all our heart
All prayer is important work
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
A kind of praying that touches the power of God
A kind of seeking that is desiring
the passive christian is in bondage
There is a type of prayer that is aggressive in binding satan
Our purpose will deepen and become more clear as we take part in spiritual increase.
Our purpose will deepen and become more clear as we take part in spiritual increase.
Your heart has to be penetrated by the love of God to the point you are
You must pray to be broken.
You must pray offensively against the enemy.
Jesus attacked with the word
Soldier, intercessor, warrior, ambassador,
We must be Diligent in our spiritual Growth.
Spiritual lethargy (inaction, laziness, weekness) is the path to unbelief and spiritual death.
Spiritual lethargy (inaction, laziness, weekness) is the path to unbelief and spiritual death.
You may not even know this about a person because of how they look on the outside, but on the inside they could be doubting the very core of foundational truth.
A foundational truth of faith
Your journey began by faith
Do you remember when you got saved?
Just because your parent remembers...
The first call of God is that a person accepts Christ.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
All accross the world the Holy spirit is declaring this truth
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
A person cant add to their faith without putting their faith in Christ
5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Examine yourself
Who or what sits on the throne of your life?
Does He have the rightful place in your life
What you believe, what you pursue,...
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Have you been saved?
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
God’s first work of grace in a persons life is bringing them to the place of repentance unto life.
All have sinned
Sin has a price that must be paid
We are without power to pay the price
Jesus paid the price
He rose again
Salvation by grace and through faith
Responding to God’s grace, confessing our need for Jesus, and receiving Jesus as our Savior brings knowledge of being born again.
Are you born again?
Are you saved?
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Not one person in heaven able to proclaim there good works or their religious piety as the reason for their entrance into heaven.
Baptism, giving, church attendance… can never pay for sin
Chinese Pictograph
Reasons people doubt Salvation
Reasons people doubt Salvation
1. Vague memories of the salvation decision
1. Vague memories of the salvation decision
You should reaffirm your decision of faith in the Lord
Children can get saved and they can doubt
2. Bitterness and refusal to forgive and offender
2. Bitterness and refusal to forgive and offender
This grieves the Spirit of God to the extent that the one in bondage to bitterness cannot sense the presence and comfort of God.
Fellowship is broken and we doubt salvation
3. Unwillingness to resolve offenses
3. Unwillingness to resolve offenses
When you understand you have brought hurt into someones life or you sense they think you’ve brought hurt into their life, this must be addressed.
If we know we’ve offended someone, guilt will bring lack of fellowship with God and that leads to lack of confidence of salvation.
4. Reluctance in forsaking sin
4. Reluctance in forsaking sin
The tempter will become the accuser
Walk away from all known sin.
5. Pride
5. Pride
Psa 101:5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
Evidences of Salvation
Evidences of Salvation
Spiritual life
Examine yourself - do you experience spiritual life
A new awareness of right and wrong.
A transformation
2. Spiritual Food
A hunger for the sincere milk of the Word and a growing understanding.
You wont know everything.
When I received Christ
3. Spiritual Growth
A desire for change - do you desire a spiritual change in your life
iicor5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
4. Testing of Faith
an increase in testing, persecution
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
lk6:22
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
5. A Love for Fellowship
There should be a passion for christian brothers and sisters
A Thursday night prayer meeting should encourage you
A sincere enjoyment in the fellowship of other Christians.
I remember when I enjoyed baseball more than going to church - but i remember when that changed
I will always remember my teachers that were faithful
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
If God would love me i should love you
if God loved you, you should love me!
That’s how we know we are saved
6. A Desire to Tell Others About Jesus
The next day after getting saved
When I went to the Christian School every Wednesday we went out telling others about Christ
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.