From a Pastor's Heart
Dear Viewer
Thank you for your continued faithful prayers and support for Christian Living 101 Bible Studies. We are very aware that your ministry to us has been extended sacrificially as you faced the difficulties of daily life. Please be encouraged. God will see you through it all.
As the leaves begin to turn into brilliant colors, soon to die and fall from the trees, we are reminded that God has a beautiful way of bringing times of rest and renewal. The naked limbs that gave them life will turn to bare skeletal emblems of winter’s dormant respite.
Many of you have faced very difficult tests and trials recently. Life has been hard. And we long for that period of rest that fall and winter provide for earth’s glorious covering. Soon spring will break forth and spread its carpet of new life and productivity over the earth.
Let us remember that we have been given that flow of eternal life through the awesome redemptive sacrifice of our Lord, Redeemer and King Jesus. We may feel pressure of warfare and circumstances which cause us to feel dead and dormant as the trees in winter.
Always remember that Jesus declared: “I will never leave you or forsake you”. (Hebrews 13:5) His life flow may seem to have ebbed into weariness and inactivity, but rest assured that it is very much alive.
He will bring you forth from weariness of the battle, give you that blessed rest and surge forth into new joy and victory just as the sustaining energy hidden within the trees rises to the tip of the smallest twig to produce abundant fruit.
This Pastor felt directed of the Holy Spirit to pen these words. I pray that they will be a comfort and uplifting strength to you today.
Again, we say “Thank You” for all that you do. We commend God’s abundant blessing upon you.
Your fellow servant in our Lord's Kingdom,
Pastor Gene Applegate
More from a Pastor's Heart
Many Christians are faced
with frustration and uncertainty about the battle that seems to rage within
their spirit and emotional makeup after being converted and born again into the kingdom of God
.
Some have described it as
though there is a war raging within their breast.
"It seems like I'm being torn between two forces",
they say. Others confess that
they feel condemned and incapable of leading a Christian life.
Then, there are those who are confused about the true standards of God.
They are confronted with decisions demanding that they make a choice
between what they want to do and what they know they should do.
"Asking why should this be? I feel like there's a war roaring inside of
me.”
Actually, each is describing
experiences or situations that every believer faces.
Indeed, there really is a
war within!
Once we are converted we
find that we have been renewed or regenerated within our spirit.
In fact, the word of God tells us that we have become new creatures in
Christ Jesus.
Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature ; the old things
passed away; behold, new things have come.
(2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NASB)
This means that we have
become a new creation through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. He became a
one time sacrificial offering to cleanse us from sin through his blood that he
shed while on the cross of Calvary.
This became necessary
because our personal individual spirit with which we were born, was so filled
with the inherent sin of fallen man, that all mankind became bound by the “law
of sin and death”.
We did not have the ability
to say "No" to sin until that bondage was broken through the permanent
sacrificial offering of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. This restored life
unto our spirit, enabling us to have fellowship and communication with Almighty
God. This allowed us to come into his presence in the righteousness of our
precious Lord.
Sin finds its initial
ability to function through the spirit of man.
You see, sin may be expressed through the animation of our carnal flash,
but it originates within the spirit of man.
No man has the ability to say “No” to sin unless the inherent bondage of
the law of sin and death has been broken.
The Scriptures plainly teach
that the body is carnal and filled with lustful impropriety. It is clear that
sin may very well abide within our spirit. Our thoughts and imaginations may, or
may not, be implemented by the animation of our flesh.
Therefore, when both the
flesh and the spirit are caught up with the desire to sin, it becomes impossible
for man to free himself from its bondage.
We may, through the intellect, have knowledge of right and wrong, and be
able to discipline ourselves to reject the desires of the flesh and our carnal
spirit to walk in the corruption of its lust.
Nevertheless, let us not be
deceived. Sin conceived in the heart
is still sin whether or not it comes to full fruition through the actions of the
flesh. In other words; sin lusted
after by the spirit is still sin regardless of the actions of our body.
It is amazing how many
newborn in Christ do not understand the roaring turbulence within their spirit.
The predominant doctrine being taught today in our churches really
undermines the true work of repentance and the continuing command found in the
book of Acts 2:38 (NASB):
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.”
Believers find themselves in
a quandary to the point of frustration over the warring factors raging within
their spirit. Their sincere desire to do the right thing and walk uprightly
before for the Lord is constantly challenged by conflicting desires to return to
the lifestyle experienced before their conversion.
These questions often arise
from believers who are constantly faced with conflicting thought and desire.
“Why do I have to fight so
hard to maintain a high standard of righteousness day after day?”,
they ask.
“I know that God tells me
that I am supposed to live a holy life once I become a Christian.
I strive diligently to walk in obedience to the Scriptures.
Yet, I find it very difficult to live a pure lifestyle.”
Questions arise: “Is
something wrong? Am I not really saved?
Did God not hear my prayer of repentance?
Did he hear me, but refuse to forgive me of my sin for some reason? Am I
really redeemed?
I was told that once I
became a believer, and asked God to forgive my sin, and was baptized for the
remission of sin, that everything would be wonderful and I would never have any
problems, and the whole world would change for me.
Instead, I find myself
filled with guilt and condemnation.
I am always being tempted to continue in my sin of the past.
What's wrong, did God reject me?”
Perhaps we can get a greater
understanding as we dwell upon the Apostle Paul's anguish as he fought the
raging battle between his newly created righteous spirit within and the unclean
lustful desires of his carnal flesh.
Paul was totally committed
and dedicated to living a victorious life but recognized the futility of trying
to live it in his own strength. He refers to his frustrated struggle in the book
of Romans 7:22-25. (New American
Standard Bible)
For I joyfully concur with the law
of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of
sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from
the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So
then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on
the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
After recognizing the
struggling war going on within, he comes to a conclusion.
In Romans 8:1 he declares:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law
of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the
flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who
do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to
the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death,
but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does
not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 and
those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not
have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 And if Christ is in you, though the
body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who indwells you.
So then, we see that the
conflicting war within is quenched by the fullness of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
which conquered the law of sin and death.
The Spirit of Christ and his
righteousness has been implanted into us.
We are a new creation with the ability to live in the righteousness of
our precious Lord and Redeemer. Indeed; “Old things are passed away and all
things have become new.”
The raging conflict within
is subdued as we draw closer to our Lord through reading his word and allowing
his spirit of righteousness to control the carnal flesh.
Remember!
The spirit of our old carnal nature will rule us, allowing sin to remain
or the righteous spirit of Jesus will take control of our life as we yield
ourselves to his directives. The choice is ours.
The antagonizing war within
diminishes according to the measure of peace abiding
through the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us strive for a full
measure of victorious peace as we live in the new ability to say “NO” to sin and
“YES” to the righteousness of Jesus.
Christian Living 101
Learn how to be free from fear and oppression! Replace
it with confidence and peace.
"CHRISTIAN LIVING 101” By Pastor Applegate is dedicated
to providing a basic foundation for developing a victorious lifestyle in our
modern day environment. We present the pure Word of God without denominational
bias or church dogma.
“Christian Living 101” is an exclusive, independent production by Pastor Gene
Applegate; designed to reach this generation through the internet and electronic
media. We are dedicated to teaching the Scriptures with a simple, easily
understood common language of the day. Learn about God’s plan for created man;
from Adam to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the House of Israel; to the birth,
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb that brought
deliverance from the law of sin and death to all who accept him as Lord,
Redeemer and Savior. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will return
to earth and rule over all the nations with absolute authority and power with
his bride, all the “House of Israel". We have an intense desire to
inform and prepare people for eternity. Jesus is going to return soon!
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. Acts 4:12 KJV"
Life on this earth is short! Eternity is forever… Where will you spend it?
We Believe
- That Almighty God desired
fellowship and communion from a special people who would willfully honor
and serve him; glorify His name and reveal his holiness, love and
righteous judgment to all creation. Genesis 1:26.
- That He created Adam-ite man
in His likeness, perfect in every way and without sin; to be a living
spirit, housed in a body of flesh with reasoning intellect who would
rule over the earth and all of his creation thereon. Genesis
1:27-28.
- That Adam became disobedient and
died spiritually, selling himself into sin; he condemned his offspring to
sinful slavery, bound in servitude to the “law of sin and death.”
Genesis 3:6-7.
- That God honored the faith of
Abraham and made a Covenant to make him father of many nations, with his
seed as innumerable as the sand of the sea. Genesis 17:3-7; Galatians
3:8, 9.
- That Abraham’s seed, through
Isaac, are the chosen people of God, commonly known as the “House of
Israel”, and that God rejected Esau and accepted Jacob. Romans 9:13.
- That Almighty God established
his Law that the dimension of their sin could be revealed and their
rebellion and obstinacies could be measured. Romans 4:14; 7:7.
- That no
man can keep the “Law” and no sacrificial offering of animals can
restore life to man’s dead spirit.
- That Jesus Christ is the Word
of God, His only begotten son; who came in the flesh of man, born of a
virgin and offered him-self as a sinless sacrificial offering that all who believe in him might inherit everlasting life.
Matthew 1:20-23; Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 7:27; John10:18.
- That we are redeemed (bought
back) and/or saved (cleansed) through the shedding of his blood on
Calvary's cross. We enter into that new creation experience through
repentance and water baptism, thereby becoming a new creature in Christ
Jesus. Romans 3:25; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10.
- That we have Covenant promise
of physical healing through the stripes He bore upon his back. Isaiah
53:5; 1 Peter 2:24; James 5:14, 15.
- That Jesus rose from the dead,
and having conquered satan; he came forth with the keys of death in his
hand. Revelation 1:18.
- That he ascended to the right
hand of Almighty God as our advocate and intercessor. Hebrews 10:12; 1
John 2:1.
THE
WAR WITHIN
- That Jesus sent the Holy
Spirit to lead us into all truth; fill us with the gifts of the Holy
Spirit and endue us with supernatural power from Almighty God. John
16:13; Acts 1:8.
- That he is our Lord and Mighty
King who will return with his bride; the whole house of Israel, and
establish his perfect Kingdom to rule and reign over all the nations.
John14:3; Matthew 24:30; Mark 14:62; Revelation 2:26; 5:10.
