Liberty Worship Center logo

Liberty Worship Center

Tag: Holy Spirit

  • Perfected

    person piling blocks

    Perfected

    Galatians 3:1-3 (NASB)

    1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
    2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
    3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

    The Gospel

    The Apostle Paul had brought the gospel message to these Christians in the Galatian region. Paul and many other new Christians had been persecuted horribly. Paul was even stoned, to the point where his attackers actually thought he was dead. Years later, some men had come into these churches and told them that Paul was wrong. These Gentiles (non-Jews) needed to still follow all of the Jewish regulations, and essentially convert to Judaism, if they wanted to truly follow God.
    Paul told them that they did not have to do this. They simply needed to follow Jesus, as he had taught them before.

    Adding To

    At the end of the book of Revelation, we have one of the clearest warnings about adding to or taking away from (changing) the words of God’s word, the Bible.

    Revelation 22:18-19 (NASB)

    18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
    19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

    This is what the false teachers were doing with the Galatian people, and some of the people were believing them. They were adding to the simple message of salvation in Jesus. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Old Testament Law. We no longer have to follow all of the ceremonial laws and regulations in the Old Testament. Of course, the moral laws, such as the Ten Commandments, still apply, as we see in many places in the New Testament.

    Additions Today

    Human nature hasn’t changed. For some reason, at times, we convince ourselves that we have to do more than what the Bible says. We have to “earn” our way into heaven by doing good works. The problem is that we can never be good enough.

    Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

    6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
    And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
    And all of us wither like a leaf,
    And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

    What we think are good deeds are usually “filthy garments.” Why? It’s probably because of our motives. Instead of doing what God clearly says, we say that we can do something else to earn God’s approval, so that He has no choice but to welcome us into His presence. It might also be so that we can show (to ourselves or others) how much better we are than other people — religious pride.
    Salvation is easy, but it is also the hardest thing you will ever do.

    Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

    9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
    10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

    Taking Words Away

    Probably more common than adding words to what God says is taking words away. Our society says that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex. It also says that homosexuality is just as normal as heterosexuality. That is taking away from what God clearly says, though.

    Romans 1:25-28 (NASB)

    25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
    26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
    27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
    28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

    Some people would actually call this “hate speech”, but in reality, it is love speech. Real love is willing to tell someone else the truth, even if it costs them a friendship or jail time. Simply reading this passage, in a Christian church, in some countries would be considered a crime, at that person could go to jail. This is happening almost every day, and not just in communist countries; it’s happening in England, Canada, and many other Western countries.
    Many people will preach “tolerance”, but they themselves will only tolerate what they want to believe; in other words, a one-way tolerance.

    Truth

    Facts are not something that we have the right to vote on. A fact is either true or it’s false. If it’s false, it’s a lie. In a free country, people don’t have to be Christians. To call yourself a Christian, though, and not follow what the Bible says, is a lie.

    1 John 1:6-7 (NASB)

    6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
    7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

    Following Christ means that we actually follow Christ — what He said and did. We don’t have the right to change what God said, any more than we can say that 2 + 2 does not equal 4. Facts are facts, whether we choose to believe them or not.

    Daily Life

    It might not seem like it, but these are very basic things. If we are going to live godly lives, we need to follow God. Following God needs to be a daily way of life, not something that we do once a week or when we are around certain people. It’s also not about “big” sins. It can simply be not taking the time to listen to God, to find out what He wants us to do. There is an old parable about putting a frog in cold water, then gradually heating it up, and the frog doesn’t even notice it until it’s too late.

    1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)

    33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

    Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

    20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

    Little Changes

    As we said, living a godly life is a daily thing, a way of life. When a person gives their life to Christ, they become a new creation. A butterfly can’t crawl around on the ground anymore. It now has to fly and live a new life. God has called us to live new lives, not being swayed by so-called “popular opinion.”
    When we start to say to ourselves that something is “not that bad”, we are in danger of compromising God’s holiness in our lives. We should always strive for His righteousness, not our own. The only way to do that is to walk by and live in the Spirit, not in the flesh.

    Galatians 3:1-3 (NASB)

    1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
    2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
    3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

    More…

    We would love to speak with you or have you worship the Lord with us. Please let us know how we can serve you.

    Contact Us
    How to be Saved
    Messages
    Church Calendar

  • Saving for the Future

    Saving for the Future

    Savings

    Most people want to save up for something. Maybe it’s a new car, or a better house, or college education. Whatever it is, it’s worth sacrificing a little today, so they can have something nice in the future. We all dream of a better life, nicer clothes, living in a new neighborhood, etc.
    What are we willing to give up now to get our dream in the future?

    Delay of Gratification

    Saving for the future usually requires denying ourselves something now. If we want to buy a house, we might need to rent a less-expensive apartment, so we can save up for the down payment on a house. If we want to send our children to better schools, we probably can’t go out to eat every night.
    If we want to follow Jesus now, there are some things that we have to give up.

    Luke 9:23 (NASB)

    23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

    Self-denial sounds like a bad thing, but it’s not always bad. For example, I intentionally deny myself food I don’t like. I also deny myself the act of hitting my head against a wall (usually). Most importantly, I deny myself things that will come between me and my relationship with God. To me, not having that closeness with Jesus hurts more than wall-induced headaches.
    What are some of the things that come between us and God?

    Hindrances

    Idolatry is when we worship someone or something more than, or instead of God alone. It can also be considering something else more important than He is to us. Throughout the Bible, God uses the example of marriage to show our relationship with Him. He created us so that He could love us.

    Colossians 3:5 (NASB)

    5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

    Here, Paul is telling us some of the things that God views as idolatry – worshiping a different god. They are also things that harm our lives and the lives of those around us.
    Immorality: Just like Adam and Eve, we were created to marry someone of the opposite sex and live with them for the rest of our lives. Any other sex might seem like fun at the time, but it always causes heartache in the end, leaving ruined lives behind.
    Impurity: There are temptations all around us in movies, the Internet, social media, or just crude jokes with friends or coworkers. What we do starts with what we think.
    Passion: Passion within a marriage is good; anything else is not.
    Evil desire: wanting something that we know we should not have. A young child might dream of eating nothing but candy and sweets. That can keep them from actually eating good, nutritious food, though.
    Greed: It can be easy, at times, to see someone else with something that we want. We might think that we deserve it more than they do. A major part of living a life pleasing to God is accepting how he created us. I will never be the richest or poorest. I will never be the best-looking or the worst-looking. There are many things that we will never be, but we will always be created in the image of God, and worthy of living a godly life.

    Satisfaction

    Philippians 4:12-13 (NASB)

    12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
    13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

    Paul learned, through his life experiences, how to be content, whether he had a lot or a little. He knew that wherever he was in life, His heavenly Father would be there with him, helping him every step of the way.

    Easy Labor

    Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

    28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
    29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
    30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

    Yes, we do have to work in this life, but Jesus told us to take His yoke, to take His burden. When we are living for the devil, we carry a heavy burden of sin, guilt, and shame. Jesus wants to set us free from all of that.

    The Enemy

    1 Peter 5:8 (NASB)

    8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

    We do have an actual enemy called the devil or Satan. Long ago, he was jealous of God and wanted to be God. God, thankfully, did not allow that. He banished Satan from His presence. Since God created us (and not the angels) in His image, Satan hates us and delights in hurting us. This is why he tempts us with evil things. He knows that they will separate us from God. He knows that they will keep us in bondage to him, not set us free in Christ.

    Finding Your Life

    Luke 9:24-26 (NASB)

    24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
    25 “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
    26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

    In order to have a good life now, and for eternity, we need to be willing to give up the harmful things in our lives. Nothing in this world can compare to spending eternity with Jesus in heaven, and the best part is that we don’t have to wait. We can live that abundant life right now.

    Abundant Life

    John 10:10 (NASB)

    10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

    When Jesus said “abundantly”, He used a word that meant something that exceeded what was necessary – a super-abundance.

    Down Payment

    2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NASB)

    21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,
    22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

    The same Holy Spirit Who was there in creation, the same Holy Spirit Who enabled Jesus to live a sin-free life, the same Holy Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead, has been given to us, by Jesus, as a pledge, or down payment, with much more to come.

    Divine Helper

    John 14:16-17 (NASB)

    16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
    17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

    When Jesus was walking this earth with His disciples, He could only be one place at one time. In order to complete His work, He needed to be wherever His children were, whenever they needed Him. After He died for us on the cross, then was raised up again, He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us, to help us, and to give us a taste of what to expect in heaven.

    Building for the Future

    1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NASB)

    11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
    12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
    13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
    14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
    15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

    The things that we do determine what we have. If we build a shelter out of cardboard, it will protect us from the sun, but not from any rain. If we build a substantial house, with a strong foundation, strong walls, and a reinforced roof, even a hurricane won’t be able to blow it down.
    The trials of life will test what we are building today. After this life is over, there will be a judgment day that will test what we are building. If we build with gold and silver, they will only get stronger and more purified when tested by fire. We can settle for less, but the end result will ultimately be less, and might even be completely burned up.

    Crown of Righteousness

    2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NASB)

    7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
    8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

    At the end of our lives, may we all be able to say, as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” If we do this, we will also have a “crown of righteousness” waiting for us. Truly, Jesus is the only one Who deserves this crown, but He wants to share this with everyone who has “loved His appearing.”

    Eternal Life

    Ever since the Garden of Eden, God has been calling to us to spend time with Him. Today can be the start of a new beginning for you. Call to Him today, and He will help you on a journey that we keep going up, all the way to eternity.

    If you would like to discuss this with someone or would like prayer, please send us a message by clicking here.