Title: Refine yourself (1 Timothy 4:6-11)
Contents
1 Timothy 4:6-11 “If you enlighten your brothers with these things, you will become a good worker in Christ Jesus, nurtured in the word of faith and the good teaching that you follow. Physical training is profitable for a little, but godliness is useful for all things, and has a promise in this life and in the life to come. who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe; command these things and teach them."
I believe that God does not want us to be like Private Benjamin. We are proud to have become God's soldiers, and we believe that we should do this without complaining, knowing that soldiers deserve to be nurtured and trained.
The brave and laid-back appearance of the military is not something that just happens, but is achieved through sweat and hard work of training. If I see only the military's cool clothes and a brave look, I should be like that, but even if I don't train, I neglect it, after all, it's just a dog's dream. True dreams must come at a price. It takes sweat, tears and blood to make a dream come true.
The second-year students of World Vision Disciples University, who have been nurtured and trained for over two years, have their graduation ceremony today. The first is the grace of God, and the next is that our trainees know exactly what they applied for and 'signed' to God's army, and they sweat bloody sweat rather than sweet relaxation. I believe it is because I have been diligently handling the process. Congratulations to the graduates, and as I always say, graduation is the beginning, not the end.
Through upbringing and training, I have spoken to trainees countless times. "The course we are doing now is not just a Bible study. I hope you do not think so. The training we are doing is spiritual training. It is the Holy Spirit movement, the gift movement, the prayer movement, and the life movement that saves lives. "
What we are training is the training for victory on the cross of Jesus, the training for the blood of Jesus, and the training to use the name of Jesus. And it is training to rely on the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Through this training, we learned and learned that the drop of blood that Jesus shed on the cross is enough to purify not only my soul but also the hot springs. With one little cross of Jesus, we can change the world, and we have learned that the name of Jesus, which we call in weakness, makes evil spirits tremble louder than the sound of thunder. We have been training to rely on the Holy Spirit.
They have been training to believe and obey God's Word, the Bible, as the word of life, not just theological theories or columns. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And the Word in the Word is Jesus Christ. John 12:1-2,14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we I beheld the glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Everything we need to know about God can be learned by looking to Jesus. To see Jesus is to see God, and to know Jesus is to know God the Father. To imitate Jesus is to imitate God.
We are now engaged in a great spiritual war that cannot be ignored. The forces of evil and ungodliness, previously thought to have nothing to do with us, are infiltrating and infecting us, our homes, our churches, and our societies. Our children are tainted with ungodly humanistic philosophies, violence, songs of rebellion or anti-Christian content, sexual depravity, and social and moral values that are in direct opposition to the Word of God. Even within the church, it is being colored with humanism rather than theocraticism, with ownership where people are the owner rather than roadship where the Lord is the owner. Behind these forces lies the spirit of Satan. We must discern these things and fight to the point of bleeding and winning.
Without the blood of Jesus and His name, life has no hope, no meaning, and is full of confusion. I hope you will take a look around those who live without Jesus. I can't tell you how pitiful it is to see people living empty lives without any purpose in life, without a sense of fulfillment or reward. It seems to be living a busy life in its own way, but there is a feeling of emptiness in it, and nihilism is commonplace. There is no true peace and no true happiness. As we go closer to the Lord, we experience healing, salvation, and liberation. You will find and enjoy true peace and happiness.
God has given us a strategy to overcome the power of the evil enemy who wants to attack our children, our homes, our marriages, and our lives. God commands us to be wise and to be alert to the tactics used by our enemies. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “This is so that we may not be deceived by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” This is not a case that can be solved all at once, but a spiritual war that must be fought continuously. Putting this strategy into practice requires nurturing and training. Having a tactic is useless if you don't have the skills or ability to execute it. Therefore, churches and saints must learn to wage spiritual warfare. Much of our victory will depend on how well we are armed for war and how well we are trained to use those weapons. That's why we have to train in full armor every day.
To be glorified is a great thing. However, in order to enjoy that glory, difficult training is also necessary. Spiritual warfare is inevitable in the Christian life. Spiritual warfare is part of the calling and training. We must not evade our responsibility. The only key to our victory is the blood of the Lamb. The cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is His name. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the goal of this church's nurturing system to make it stay in us and to train as a soldier who can use it well. For those of you who have not experienced this system, we hope to have the opportunity to experience it soon.