“You will know them……..” That was the title of the lesson that was shared on Friday, September 28, 2012 in The Sanctuary. 

Matthew 7:18-20 says, 

“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits."

We are in our series “Got Fruit” and we have been going in depth about the “Fruit of the Spirit”. In Galatians 5; 22, Paul provided to us the character traits that each believer should possess and these fruit would signify how you will know them. “Them” refers to the believers of Christ and the fruit is the Fruit of the Spirit. These fruits or traits are parts of one singular fruit but together they make up the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. These are characteristics that originate from God and they are defined by His character. These traits are manifested when we fill ourselves with the Spirit. We must remember that gifts of the Spirit are given, but spiritual fruit is developed.  The fruit of the Spirit comes to us when we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior; however, it only comes as a small seed which must be nurtured and developed in our lives (or watered) through prayer, by reading the Word, and by putting faith into action. If Christ is in us, then we should be Christ like and people will know us by our fruits. The fruit of the Spirit is the display of the character of Christ.  And it is His presence within us that enables us to develop the spiritual fruit in our lives. As in our last lesson, we will be educated on the meaning of each fruit, learn practical tools that we can apply to our lives and lastly look at how God can manifest these virtues in our lives.  

Last week we covered Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control, the fruits that deal with the principles for the believer's proper conduct. They reveal how a Christian should be in himself with implications of his spiritual and moral reliability. This week we dealt with Longsuffering, Kindness and Goodness. This group deals with social virtues relating to our thoughts and actions toward our fellow (wo) man. 
 
The first fruit in this category is Longsuffering. Longsuffering is the fourth fruit that Paul named in Galatians 5:22. Longsuffering is a part of God's character, a part of His image and a part of His nature. Therefore it's something He wants us all to learn exponentially.

The definition for the word "suffering" is patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship, patiently enduring wrongs or difficulties, patient endurance, enduring pain, unhappiness, etc., without complaint

Vine Commentary provides the Greek word for Longsuffering as "MAKROTHUMIA. The MAKROS gives us the English prefix macro; means "large" or "long” and THUMOS means 'temper,' and is usually rendered ‘longsuffering,’ Longsuffering is basically having a long temper.

It means it suffers or endures long without allowing itself to be provoked, as opposed to a quick tempered person. It does not retaliate out of anger. Vine describes it as: “Self-restraint”, does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish

Vine's notes that: "Longsuffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish, it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy. Patience is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial; James 1:19 illustrates longsuffering in action,

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Longsuffering enables you to forbear and forgive others doing difficult and challenging circumstances. And this is not something you can do on your own, as with the other manifestations of spiritual fruit. The abilityto be longsuffering comes from the Holy Spirit and by loving God's law.  

Longsuffering is also referred to as patience. Patience is being mild, gentle, and constant in all circumstances.  The real test of patience is not in waiting, but in how one acts while he or she is waiting. A person who has developed patience will be able to put up with things without losing his or her temper. Scripture tells us in James 1:4 

"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting (lacking) nothing." 
 
Reaching this point is definitely a process which takes a lot of practice. However, we can learn to enjoy life where we are while we are waiting for what we desire.

It is important to note that patience is not passive; on the contrary it is active; it is “concentrated strength.” Longsuffering/Patience is a major attribute of God as God is longsuffering toward us. He is our perfect example. He has shown long suffering for us throughout the ages. But God also has promised judgment and salvation. And the Lord is not slack nor does he procrastinate in showing that judgment. Pet. 3:9 says:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any perish but that all should come to repentance.”

He is just waiting to give us time to come around, to avoid His wrath. He is showing great longsuffering as He endures our sins, giving us time to repent and turn to Him. The longer God waits, the greater our opportunity for salvation 

But we must understand that His longsuffering has a limit.  Longsuffering is not endless tolerance. Consider Noah and the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah and the Jews' rebellion in the wilderness. It is difficult to understand how God has tolerated the foolishness and the utter nonsense of the human race since the beginning of time: rebellion, idolatry, immorality, perversion and cruelty. And just as God is Longsuffering with us we are required to as believers to exercise this quality to others. We must learn to suffer long with others as God does with us. Colossians 3:12 says,

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God,holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering."

 The elect means we are chosen by God based on our faith and obedience to the gospel. Such a relationship brings great responsibility. We must put on the character of God which includes longsuffering. Colossians 3:13 tells us how to suffer long with one another.

Forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any men have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

 In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus gives an interesting twist to the importance of God's patience by connecting it to our forgiveness. (Matthew 18:26-34)

The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Then themaster of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe!" So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me and I will pay you all." And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.)

As you can see from the Unforgiving Servant he wanted compassion and forgiveness shown towards him but he did not display that same type of forgiveness and attitude when confronted with the exact same
situation. We are to be forbearing: patient, kind in areas of friction or conflict, forgiving one another: seeking opportunities to put complaints and debts behind. Following this "golden rule" is conducive to the development of longsuffering, that is, be as patient with others as one wants others to be with you.

Patience empowers and protects us Leonardo da Vinci said, "Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will
then be powerless to vex your minds." 
 
How do we manifest this Long-suffering in our lives? It is birthed by communion with God and developed by an appropriate response under trial. It’s not the experiencing of trials that produces patience or long-suffering. If that were true, then every believer would have this fruit in immeasurable abundance. This is a fine point of understanding, but absolutely critical to producing fruit. The degree of benefit from a trial is dependent upon the attitude we exhibit during that trial. Think of it in these terms: it’s not resistance alone that brings growth but controlled resistance does.

Make the right decision; you get the right result. The right decision for Christians is to abide in Christ in good and difficult times that we might then bring forth the fruit and grace of long-suffering. When the world sees someone who can come through his suffering with faith, hope and love; someone who can display the nature and attitude of God despite difficulty; someone who can emerge victorious from every conflict, they will stop, take notice and they will know who you serve from the fruit you bear. 

To be an effective witness it is imperative to manifest His character by His grace and through faith and by making sure we are doing the following:

·Diligently study God's word. 
·Develop a consistent prayer life.
·Be persistent in a desire to develop Longsuffering. It does not come by accident. 
·Consider the ineffectiveness and possible harm that can be done by impatience. The things we say and do out of a lack of longsuffering are seldom good.
·We may need to apologize for the things we say and do out of impatience. 
·Demonstrate longsuffering toward one self. If we are impatient with ourselves, it will be impossible to manifest longsuffering toward others. 
·One must realize that the development of longsuffering is strictly the responsibility of the individual. He who doesn't have it cannot shift the reason for the lack of it to someone else. 

What is the purpose of Long-suffering? 

The purpose is that those who fear Him and keep His commandments might delight in His loving-kindness, even though they have sinned and come to him for salvation, but be led to repentance and for those that are "led by the Spirit" it will produce the fruit longsuffering in their lives.

We than learned about the second and third fruit in this category, Goodness& Kindness. These two fruits are considered the Twin Fruit as they go hand in hand. 

Kindness in Galatians 5:22 is derived from the Greek word chrestotes, which not only means goodness as a quality of purity, but also as a gracious disposition in character and attitudes. It also encompasses
tenderness, compassion, and sweetness. In Matthew 11:30, the word chrestotes (kindness) is used to describe the yoke of Jesus. He said,

"For my yoke is easy [chrestos] and my burden is light.” 

The yoke of Christ speaks of the development of a disciplined life through obedience, submission, companionship, service, and cooperation. It is a relationship that is gracious, sweet, and pleasant and kind
because it is based on commitment and love rather than force and servitude. We have a Master whom we serve because we love Him, and we also serve one another because of our love for Him. To serve without love is unbearable. To serve because of love is the highest privilege. 
 
Goodness as the fruit of the Spirit is translated from a Greek word, agathousune, and it is the practice or expression of kindness, or doing that which is good. Goodness, speaks of service or ministry to one another, a spirit of generosity put into action, of serving and giving. It is the natural result of kindness. It is that inner quality of tenderness, compassion, and sweetness. All of this is summed up to one word LOVE. Love is kind and good, always seeking to minister to the needs of others.

When you love someone you show compassion, tenderness and sweetness and you demonstrate the love you have for that person by being generous, wishing to serve and wanting to meet their needs and desires. Does that not sound like the love that Christ has for us? Are we demonstrating this love in our daily lives?

The following were provided as examples demonstrating Kindness and Goodness:

·Job not only was a patient man, but he is also a vivid example of kindness and goodness. He showed patience and kindness despite the calamity and issues he faced. 

·Stephen is another outstanding example of following his Master in showing kindness. Instead of desiring the death of his persecutors, he prayed for them as he was being stoned to death.

·Jesus demonstrated kindness in His last acts before His death. While hanging on the cross He provided someone to care for His mother. He also asked forgiveness for those who crucified Him. 

So how do we apply this kind patience and kindness into our lives? 

The spiritual dimensions of kindness and goodness involve Christian service and love. This is summed up in a single command:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other (Galatians 5:13–15).

As we know the times we live in now, there is so much backbiting and bickering that it is slowly deteriorating and destroying relationships, churches,  homes, our community and nation. If we would take heed to scripture and love our neighbors as ourselves we would could truly impact the kindgom.

Serving in love is an expression of goodness, and it should begin in our own family first. Home is the best place to exercise the fruit of the Spirit. Some Christians find it easy to show kindness to outsiders, but in their own home they fail to be kind and good. To serve with love is a demonstration of spiritual fruitfulness you can show to your own family.

These Scriptures sum up the importance of serving with love:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9–10)

Above all, love each other deeply, because lovecovers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:8–10)

To walk in Patience and Kindness we must:
·Crucify our flesh.
·Keep in step with the Spirit. When we get out of step, when we get our eyes off the spirit and on the flesh that’s when we lose our connection with the vine (God).
·Prayer

As stated kindness and goodness are so closely related that sometimes it is not easy to distinguish between them; a kind person is also a good person; a good person innately is a kind person as both of these characteristics stem from love. It's said that patience is suffering love; kindness is compassionate love; and goodness is ministering love.
 
All three of these, Longsuffering, Kindness and Gentleness are produced in us by the Holy Spirit and they instruct us as to how we are to interact in our relationships. It is important to remember that without the Spirit of Christ within us, our nature will not be inclined to demonstrate these traits. However, with the Holy Spirit resting, ruling and abiding in our lives we can develop in us longsuffering (patience), kindness and goodness, helping us to minister to the world with the love of Jesus. As Matthew 7:18-20 stated…”we are to know them by the fruit that they bear”. Those fruit should be the character and image of Jesus—that means kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control; so that as we go about our lives it is very clear that we are them.

John 15:5 (NIV) 
 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

We are still on the "Road to Purpose and we have been feasting on the "Fruit of the Spirit". This past Friday Fellowship and Prayer meeting we dug deeper into the Fruit of the Spirit. We previously learned that the nine virtues relative to the fruit of the Spirit in believers falls into three sets:

-First group deal with the soul's well-being. Love, joy and peace portray a Christian's mind in its most general aspect with special emphasis on one's relationship with God.
-Second group deal with the believer's relations with others. Longsuffering (patience), kindness and goodness—contains social virtues relating to our thoughts and actions toward fellow man.
-Third group provide principles for the believer's proper conduct.  Faithfulness (fidelity), gentleness and self-control—reveal how a Christian should be in himself with overtones of his spiritual and moral reliability.

Friday we started with the third group, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. We dealt with our spiritual and moral conduct and checked ourselves!

If you were going to define faithfulness, how would you do it? The dictionary defines it as, "To follow through with a commitment regardless of difficulty." The fruit of the Spirit known as “faithfulness” could also be called “fidelity. “, it speaks of endurance, a firmness of purpose, especially when the going is tough. Faithfulness implies steadfast adherence.  In the King James Version of the New Testament it primarily means to have a "firm persuasion" which is usually gained from having a conviction based upon hearing. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, New Testament ( p. 222), goes on to say: It is used in the New Testament to mean "faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual", a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgment of God's revelation or truth, a personal surrender to Him, a conduct inspired by such surrender.

The following are some of the components of faithfulness:

o Dependability—Dependability means people can count on you.

o Honesty—Honesty is truthfulness. It means you are not going to lie or cheat or steal. Honesty is a cardinal building block of a strong character and should be in play every day of our lives.

o Integrity—Integrity is like a code of honor. If you have integrity, you have certain values and beliefs that you live by. It also means you respect the values and beliefs of others. Integrity is also one of the building blocks of character.

o Loyalty—Loyalty is an allegiance. It means standing by someone even when times get tough. Loyalty is an important part of friendship.  

What is Faithfulness? Faithfulness is not a fleeting thing that is based on momentary emotions. Faithfulness is what helps the Christian overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, resulting in a crown of righteousness. Because of faithfulness, worthy men of old did great things. Hebrews 11:1 says,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” .

Faith, according to the Hebrew writer is composed of two elements: confidence and conviction.  Faith” and “faithfulness,” though closely linked, are not the same things. The meaning of faith is made clearer when this is understood. Faith is that indefinable power, a gift from God, through which we can believe in a reality that yet remains unseen. Faithfulness, in contrast, is the working out of this inner-belief system. When we have faith in God, we act in faithful ways. Acts of faithfulness are a demonstration of our faith. Faithfulness is an essential element that each and every Christian must possess in order to go to heaven;

"Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev 2:10).

We can go back to the Old Testament to read in detail the lives of those that have exhibited this wonderful fruit of the spirit, faithfulness. God thought so much of those that did so, that He included a snapshot of their life for us to learn from in Hebrews, chapter 11. When we take a moment to reflect on the lives of those that had great faith, we can learn not only what faith is, but how to put it to use in our life. As one progresses through the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we notice many individuals that exemplified great faithfulness in their service to God. Let's look at just three of these characters that are named in this chapter: Hebrews 11:1-39

Abraham-"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The Hebrew writer has discussed two events in Abraham's life that showed an unwavering faithfulness in God: 1. His calling to go to an unknown land; 2. and his trial he endured with his son Isaac. We do not know how he came to believe God in his idolatrous environment, but his trust had to be deep and abiding for him to be able to do as God directed him.

Sarah-She was not perfect; she blamed God for her barrenness and advised Abraham to have her slave girl Hagar. She tortured Hagar.  So when God made the promise to Abraham that he would cause a son to be born to a husband and wife who is nearly a hundred years old, his credibility is at stake. When Sarah overheard the promise she laughed to herself. Her faith had not grown past her husband’s faith. Abraham had sold her out twice, but God remain faithful to here and delivered her each time. Sarah however remained faithful to her husband who had not been faithful to her and she continued to call him Lord. And at some point in their walk with God, Sarah and Abraham became convinced that God could do what he promised. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, (menopause).  She not only believed that God could give her a son, but also that he would because He is a faithful, reliable and trustworthy God. Sarah is known as the mother of the Jewish race.

Noah-"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith". Noah had to overcome many obstacles through his years (wickedness of man, corruptness, violence), yet remained faithful in his service to God.  Noah's faith was manifested by obedience to the directions that he received by God The magnitude of the work that he performed — based on pure faith: 1) He built an ark that was (assuming a cubit represented 21 inches) 525 feet long, 87 feet wide, 52 feet high (six stories). 2) He worked long hours sustained only by faith. 3) His work was most certainly ridiculed by many who must have thought he was crazy. He endured sarcasm yet pressed on!  He not only believed, but his belief, his faithfulness, caused him to do God's will.

These are but three examples of faithfulness exemplified in Hebrews 11. We could continue by talking about Enoch, Moses, Abel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Rehab, and others but these should prove enough to show us the great and abiding faithfulness that each had in almighty God.

The ultimate example of faithfulness is Jesus. Throughout His ministry Satan tried to tempt Jesus to be unfaithful. "Don’t go to the cross. Don’t die for their sins. Just quit. It’s going to be too tough. There will be too many obstacles, too many difficulties. Just turn around & quit." Yet the Bible tells us that "Jesus set His face steadfastly toward Jerusalem." Jesus was determined that no matter what happened, He would be faithful to the mission God had for Him to do. So "steadfastly" He goes to Jerusalem.

Think how easy it could have been for some of these people to have become discouraged. Think of Sarah waiting and waiting and waiting for the promised child or Noah working tirelessly on an ark with constant ridicule. We sometimes tend to look at these people as if they were larger than life, kind of superhuman, and yet, they were just as real as we are, just as prone to sin, just as prone to question and to fear and to fall. Despite all their own weaknesses and mistakes, however, they showed faithfulness, they acted out the faith they professed, and they were able to be used by God to do remarkable things. Now that we know what faithfulness is and how it was exhibited in the lives of Sarah, Abraham and Noah, let's turn our attention to how we can learn to have this kind of faithfulness in our life today.

To answer this we must realize that an orange tree doesn’t stand in the middle of an orchard saying, "Now how do I develop oranges?" An orange tree produces oranges because that’s what orange trees do. And when we are Spirit-led Christians, when we are a branch attached to the vine who is Jesus Christ, then we produce fruit because it’s the natural thing to do. We don’t have to sit around & think about it & analyze it. But we do have to be careful that our branch is never detached from the vine, or some disease will destroy our fruitfulness.

There are certain things that we need to realize. Temptations will come. Just as surely as Jesus was tempted to be unfaithful, we will be tempted to be unfaithful - in our marriage, in our relationship with the Lord. That’s what Satan does. He will tempt us to be unfaithful. We need to seek the Holy Spirit’s reinforcement & develop regular, positive, spiritual habits. We are being pressured on every side to develop negative habits, tempting us to be unfaithful in prayer & in studying the Word of God. We have to be consistent, & trustworthy, & reliable. And if we fail or fall, we need to get back up.

Every single witness of Hebrews chapter 11 exhibited obedience to God. We must do likewise to be counted worthy. Jesus endured the cross and died for us. Knowing this, let us not become weary and discouraged in our daily life. The faithful (wo)man of God is one that really trusts in the Lord and counts on God to deliver him. Faithfulness is a mindset. We must be of the mind that we want to serve God first in our life. Things have not happened as soon as we expected, you may get discouraged. You may be disappointed. But faithfulness says, "Even though there is discouragement & disappointment, I will not let go, I will not quit. I will keep on attending & giving & serving, because God has called me to be faithful."

The issue that confronts God’s people is not “Will God be faithful?” We know that He is faithful to all that He has promised. The crucial issue is, “Will I be faithful until the end?” Do you feel that you’ve been knocked down or maybe that you’ve fallen and cannot make it until the end? Have you been irresponsible? Are you tempted to quit? Don’t stop. Keep pressing on. Remain faithful because he is faithful to you. Every time you see a rainbow, remember that God is faithful - He keeps His promises. Every time you gather to worship with brothers & sisters in Christ, remember that He said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20). And when you stand on the brink of death, remember His promise, "In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John 14:2-4) And as Thomas Chisholm wrote so eloquently:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father...Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me." 

We were next checked by the Fruit of Gentleness. Aristotle gave its classic definition as halfway between excessive anger and indifference. That is, he felt the gentle person could be angry at the right time and submissive at the right time. It is likened to animals that were powerful, yet tamed and under control.  Gentleness is not weakness. It is not allowing yourself to become a doormat. It is part of God’s character as He moves triumphantly in mighty power and victory. Gentleness is never a false modesty, a self-depreciation, or a spineless refusal to stand for anything. Gentleness is never a cowardly retreat from reality, which substitutes a passive selfishness for real gentleness and avoids trouble in ways that allow even greater trouble to develop.  Neither is it a false humility. The Bible says Moses excelled in the meekness that is gentleness (Numbers 12:3). God gave him a high position. It is hard for the natural man to be gentle toward those who attack him, especially if they attack his official rank and honor. But Moses did not try to defend himself. He was gentle toward Miriam and Aaron and let God take care of the situation.

In Colossians 3:12, Paul urges us “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,” to clothe ourselves “with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” This shows that the fruit of the Spirit needs our cooperation for its development. Some have said, “Don’t worry about the fruit. Just bask in the sunlight of His love, enjoy the rain of His blessing, and the fruit will automatically appear.” But it does not work that way. We have to put to death the works of the flesh. We have to exercise our faith to develop them. Someone has pointed out that courage is not in Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit. But we should recognize that it takes courage to be gentle in the midst of all the evil surrounding us in this world.  It took courage for Paul to stand against the party spirit that had developed in Corinth and that had become almost vicious.   In 2 Timothy 2:25, Paul tells the Lord’s servant that those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will give them a change of heart, leading them to the knowledge of the truth. That is, he must keep on patiently and gently teaching. Jesus showed true gentleness both in the midst of conflict and in the midst of popularity. He knew who He was, but He was gentle and humble; Jesus’ awareness of His power enabled Him to be gentle to those in need.

Gentleness includes the idea that we do not care about what happens to our honor as much as what happens to God’s honor and what happens to others. In our daily lives we cannot help coming into situations that bring conflicts with people. It is easy for us in the natural to react with violence or anger, especially if we feel insecure in our position. But when we accept the reality of which we are in Christ and trust the Holy Spirit to help us, we can be gentle, whatever conflicts may arise. His gentleness works. It brings forth righteousness, and it will bring forth justice in the earth, He gently takes the sinner and makes him whole. May we cultivate that fruit of the Spirit which gives all the glory to God and shows a gentleness that is powerful and demonstrates the, holy, faithful love of God!

Lastly, we were checked by the Fruit of the Spirit, Self-Control. This is probably the least fruit on St. Paul's tree that we may like. It tastes more like a lemon than a peach to most of us. If we can look past our frustration at ourselves, we can still discover it is a beautiful one when we let it ripen. Self- control is allowing God to be in control of our will and heart and seeking the Spirit to enable us. Then we will know what not to do and guard the areas we are weak in. This will allow us to have discipline and restraint with obedience to God and others. It is not letting distractions derail or remove us from His will and plan so we will not be held back with what Christ called us to do.

In general terms Self-Control is defined as, “control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings. Self-control means that we acknowledge our limitations and strive to live within the boundaries set by God. We strive to obey God’s law and to respect and honor others. Self-control or “temperance” can be simply defined as the mastery of oneself, the capacity of individuals to so restrain their own emotions, desires, and impulses that they can serve others. 

While the fruits reflect the maturing work of the Spirit in an individual’s life, they also become apparent in relationships with other people. In looking at Galatians 5:22-23 it quickly becomes evident that by reserving the mention of self-control to last, the apostle Paul is deliberately emphasizing it as the most important of all the graces of the Spirit. 

How do we obtain Self-Control? By crucifying the flesh as we surrender ourselves to the Lord. The self-control, however, stems from the presence of the Spirit in our thoughts and emotions, is undergirded by the power of God as believers yield themselves to the Lord in obedience to His will. Galatians 5:16 says, 

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature”        

Self-control enables the believer to overcome sinful and destructive habits, to focus on ministering to others, to build up the body of Christ, thereby leading a life that is positive and productive in the family, the neighborhood, the church, and workplace.

And we cannot do this alone. We have to have help from the body of Christ. We should not assume maintaining self-control to be a purely individual matter. It is vital to recognize that ministry within the body of Christ entails responsibility to help others. Notice the corporate emphasis in each of the following passages of Scripture:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

The gathering of early Christian’s in house churches offered ample opportunities for small groups of believers to encourage each other in their spiritual walk. Christians today struggle as well to gain control of various aspects of their lives. Through members ministering to one another, the body of Christ builds itself up in love as each person becomes more mature in character and behavior in practical ways. Bible study and prayer groups, Friday night gatherings such as what we do in The Sanctuary provide an environment for dialogue and healing.  Through our meetings, we learn about the hurts of others and prayerfully ask for the Lord’s intervention. Through this rather simple means, we help one another overcome fears and discover the grace of God. Such settings provide an opportunity for sharing, and offer prayer and counsel on threatening issues. It is a valuable “support group” for hurting people. Spiritual and practical counsel offered in love can help a believer “maintain control” (respond maturely and properly) with the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit. Bible study and discussion afford us insights into how believers should react to crisis situations or vexing daily problems. The fellowship of a small group of Christians can greatly enhance the working of the Spirit in each life.

This fruit of the Spirit extends far beyond simply restraining Christians from doing what’s prohibited but includes enabling us to do what’s good. Self-control brings up everything from extreme dieting plans to over indulgence. We usually think of self-control as a negative, which is partly true.  Self-control is, in part, the art of saying "no" when we should, not merely when we feel good about it. The lack of such control in our culture can be related to chemical abuse, overeating, or a host of other unhealthy behaviors.  This should concern every believer, we as believers of Christ should wish to be a lighthouse of God’s grace to those who are “out of control.”

So what happens when you lose control? Proverbs 25:28 says:

“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control.”

What can happen to a city whose walls are broken down? There is no protection. Enemies have free reign in the city to take what they want. Anything of value is vulnerable. Cities used to have big, stone walls around them. Those walls protected the townspeople from enemies who wanted to attack them. The enemy would be kept outside of the city because they could not come through the wall. Almost every ancient city had a wall around it for protection. In Bible times God demanded walls everywhere He chose to dwell …the Sanctuary had portable walls, the Temple had several layers of walls, Jerusalem had its walls built, destroyed and re-built several times. 

When we lose control we lose our protection and the enemy can run rampant. When we lose control, we’re not very Christ-like and can be quite inconsiderate to those around us. As we know too well, we’re all human and there are times we all show a lack of control in our lives.  On those occasions, as Jesus’ ambassadors in the world, we need to have enough guts to go to those whom we may have offended and apologize and attempt to mend any fences we may have broken. Having self-control also means that we need to think before we retaliate against someone whom we feel has wronged us. Self-control means that we are gentle in our dealings with others and strive to be courteous to all. Self-control means we are willing to let God be God and not try to take his place.  It is not doing what we want, when we want to who we want. It is about not allowing our flesh and desires to rule and reign.

As a demonstration of what happens when we have failed to have self-control and allow our flesh to rule and reign we discussed Samson and the fruits of his failure.

In Judges Chapter 13–16, the Bible gives us the story of Samson. How tragic that someone with so many gifts and so much promise could get so easily sidetracked. An Angel appeared to Samson’s mother Manoah with a divine promise of the birth of a son who would be strong and mighty and he would deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. She was given specific instructions in regards to him. She was not to take strong drink (wine) nor was she to cut his hair. Monoah possesses self-control and did none of the things she was commanded not to do and the promise of a son named Samson was fulfilled. As the boy grew up it became evident that he possessed extraordinary physical strength. Had Samson obeyed the divine commands as faithfully as his parents had done, his would have been a nobler and happier destiny. Samson was born to bring victory over the Philistines accept he began to associate with them.  And the idolaters corrupted him. The town of Zorah being near the country of the Philistines, Samson came to mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus in his youth intimacies sprang up, the influence of which darkened his whole life. A young woman dwelling in the Philistine town of Timnath engaged Samson’s affections, and he determined to make her his wife. To his God-fearing parents, who endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose, his only answer was, ‘She pleaseth me well.’ The parents at last yielded to his wishes, and the marriage took place.”— After God delivered him from this woman, he found another woman more destructive, Delilah. Delilah purpose was to find out the source of Samson strength so that she could allow the Philistines to settle a score with Samson. Samson eventually told Delilah the source of his strength, which was found in his hair. And she lulled him to sleep in her lap, called for the Philistines and they over powered him, cut his hair (his strength), gouged his eyes out and bounded him and fastened him to a grinding wheel in a dark prison like an ox. Now he had time to think about his decisions and lack of self-control. Despite his great promise, Samson allowed his passions and lusts to overcome everything good. However Samson was able to finally serve the purpose that God created for him.  Samson was called to entertain the Philistines doing a festival for their God Dagon, by this time Samson hair may have grown back and was hidden from view. After abusing Samson he was allowed to stand near two pillars for the elevated stands for the dignitaries to watch the festivities. Still blind he asked a young boy who was leading him to guide his hands to touch the two pillars so that he could lean against them. Samson knew he had to deliver Israel from his oppressors. Samson prayed a solemn and sincere prayer asking for God’s strength and with all his might he push the pillars apart and the entire viewing stand collapsed killing 3000 including virtually all leadership of Philistia and himself. The disaster disrupted the Philistine nation that Israel was able throw off the yoke of oppression. Samson yielded himself to God and accomplished his purpose. Samson becomes a righteous man at the end of his life.

Samson made a series of wrong choices and did not demonstrate self-control. Instead of taking hold of the strength of God, he permitted the wild passions of his nature to have full sway. His reasoning powers were perverted, his morals were corrupted. God had called Samson to a position of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness; but he had to first learn to govern by learning to obey the laws of God. If Samson had yielded to God early in his life he would have been able to live in the divine purpose and favor God had over his life instead his lived the latter years of his life contemplating what he shoulda, woulda and coulda done in that prison going around in circles. Yes, ultimately his God given purpose was fulfilled...but he died fulfilling it.

Samson is a good example of that we should not constantly place ourselves in places where our weaknesses will be tested, where our most-difficult-to-control drives will be out on the firing line of temptation. We must avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22). Though Christ paved the way for all people to share in His victory, the battle for our hearts and flesh is being fought, indeed, in our hearts and our flesh. Sure, Christ won it all for us. But we have to choose to claim His victory all the time by the choices we make.

It is imperative to note that in this life, no one achieves all the fruit of the Spirit equally. Paul even knew that gaining perfection in this life was a struggle, he wrote to the Philippian believers,
 
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

God does not require that we try to control what is beyond us or that we fret because they are beyond us. Some things in life we must learn to accept peacefully, yield to and work our way through. It is the Spirit of Christ who works in our hearts to help us live above sinful ways, as well as the offering of loving counsel by Christian brothers and sisters that enables the Fruit of the Spirit to grow for the glory of God. As a result, we can model God’s values, demonstrate in our behaviors His power to aid us daily, and more effectively share His love for others. Every skill has to be practiced. Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control doesn’t come in a day. It comes in hits and misses, in successes and failures, and as we try to practice it day after day and allowing the Holy Spirit to check us we will be able to say "I GOT FRUIT"!!!

Our meeting this past Friday was as one of the participants stated….” just what the Doctor (God) ordered”.  We are still on our “Road to Purpose” and as we took to the road we ignited the “Power Within”. But we have gotten weary, worn and a little tired. Some of us have even said that we are almost at the point of giving up and pulling over. We understand that we should keep moving but we don’t know how? Well, on Friday night we learned,


             “This race is not given to the swift nor sure the strong but to those who can endure”.

How many times have we heard this saying? It is a very popular quote. Many of us have used it when we are encouraging others or even ourselves to don’t give up…to don’t quit. But how many of us really know that this is not an actual verse from the bible.  As worded it is not an actual verse from the bible but combines multiple scripture reference. Therefore, it is considered a truism.

So in our study of this truism… we discovered the true meaning of enduring.

Endurance is defined as being able to continue with a difficult challenge; the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way; the capacity of something to last or to withstand wear and tear. Some synonyms of endurance are stamina, durability, patience, staying power.

Do you possess the stamina, staying power, the capacity to withstand the trials of this life? Well hopefully after this study, you will have the ability to “KEEP MOVING”.

As stated, the quote combines multiple scripture references. The first scripture referenced is Ecclesiastes 9:11:

“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”

It is suggested that King Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes. As the author of Ecclesiastes he puts his powers of wisdom to work to examine the human experience and assess the human situation. His perspective is limited to what happens "under the sun". It is a carnal view. He considers life as he has experienced and he observed it between the horizons of birth and death -- life within the boundaries of this world. So what does Solomon mean? How could the fastest runner not win the race? How could the strongest man not be victorious in battle? Are we all subject to fate? Solomon was saying it isn’t always the strongest guy or the fastest guy that wins in life. We have seen those whom everybody thought were a cinch to win or achieve, but was unable to fulfill their dreams.  Time and chance happened. Time in this verse means "opportunity” and chance suggests "occurrence" or "incident”. What this verse is saying is that we all have the opportunity to make something of our lives, but eventually; there are elements of circumstance that have to fall together even before someone with great abilities can accomplish his or her goals.  But as Solomon stated, things don’t always work that way, despite if you are a believer or not, we all are subject to things not coming together and falling apart and nothing is guaranteed to us but death in this world.

Many of us have had experiences that confirm the truth of this verse. All our carefully laid plans have fallen apart; all our dreams that we had in some particular area of life crumbled, and we could not understand why. We had to learn, as this text says, the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong. The Word of God clearly acknowledges that men, even those seemingly well-deserving, will be met with unforeseen, chance setbacks, including death! This may not seem just. It may be worrisome to contemplate and very painful to experience, but we are warned through Solomon that such things will occur. Such possibilities must be part of our thinking if we are going to face the trials of life in a mature manner that will glorify our Father in heaven.

However, the illusion that the media presses upon us all the time is that we can handle our life by our choices. It's your life! You can live it the way you please. We’ve been taught and conditioned to think that if you want to succeed you have to compete and be aggressive, get up earlier, go to bed later, put in more hours, do unto them before they do unto you. But God says it cannot be done that way. Often it will seem that time and chance plays a bigger part in our lives than God’s providence.  But that is not so as God knows the plan for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse confirms God’s Divine providence. What is Divine Providence? It is the means by and through which God governs all things in the universe. The principle of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. This includes the universe as a whole, the physical world, the affairs of nations, human birth and destiny, human successes and failures, and the protection of His people. This doctrine stands in direct opposition to the idea that the universe is governed by chance or fate. The purpose, or goal, of divine providence is to accomplish the will of God; to ensure that His purposes are fulfilled. Yes, God governs the affairs of (wo)men and works through the natural order of things. The laws of nature are nothing more than a representation of God at work in the universe. The laws of nature have no power, nor do they work independently. The laws of nature are the rules and principles that God set in place to govern how things work. The same goes for human choice. In a very real sense we are not free to choose or act apart from God’s will. Everything we do and everything we choose is in full accordance to God’s will—even our sinful choices. The bottom line here is that God controls our choices and actions. Yet he does not do so in such a way that does not violate our responsibility as free moral agents, nor does it negate the reality of our choice. If we take the stance that God is not in control of all things, then this promise and all other biblical promises are invalid. We could not have complete confidence that the good work of salvation that was begun in us will be brought to completion if God is not in control of all things, then He is not sovereign, and if He is not sovereign, then He is not God. And we know that he is GOD!

Therefore to sum up, Ecclesiastes 9:11 provides a carnal perspective, a wisdom, which Solomn obtained “under the sun”. But he quickly understood by the end of the book of Ecclesiastes that by placing God at the center of one's life, work and activities, by being content and accepting one's divinely appointed position in life; and by reverently trusting in and obeying the Creator and King we can live meaningfully, purposefully and joy filled lives within his divine providence. With this information we were tasked with three Life Applications:

1. Accept the human state  as it is shaped by God's appointments and enjoy the life you have been given as fully as you can.
2. Don't trouble yourself with unrealistic goals -- know the measure of your human capabilities.
3. Be prudent in all your ways -- follow wisdom's leading.
4. Fear God and reverence him as he knows the plan for our lives.

Next we examined the second portion of that quote: “to those who can endure”. The second verse is asking us to remain faithful…..persistent”.  2 Timothy 4:7 states:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

In this chapter, Paul with great somberness and seriousness presses Timothy his protégé to be diligent and conscientious as he is discharging his work and office as an evangelist; and he charges him with taking on the work of continuing to spread the Good News. This same charge all gospel ministers are to take to themselves, (2 Timothy 4:1-5). The reason for Paul’s concern was because the church was likely to be deprived of the apostle's labors, for his departure was at hand. He informs him of what experienced and what he faced. At the beginning of this chapter he states how though men forsook him, the Lord stood by him, and this encouraged him to hope for future deliverance. If you know the life of Paul you know that his deliverance was at death. But Paul understood that the Christian life is not a sprint, it is a marathon, and it is not easy. It is easy to get distracted, but we need to remain disciplined. Like the author of Hebrews says, so that we do not grow weary in the race, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

I am quick to make excuses when it comes to giving up my desires. I allow the demons of worry, inadequacy, and fear of failure to weigh me down and render me completely ineffective and I give up.  Sins become larger than me and I fall victim to them.  In these instances, I’m not running toward something, I’m running away from something. It is time to stop giving in and I must continue to fight the good fight with a persistent faith.

Now, we should not view fighting the fight and finishing the race as being different from keeping the faith. They are simply pictures that Paul used to describe what is involved in keeping the faith. The faith that Paul has kept is not faith in him, or in any man. It is faith in Christ Jesus. When you have faith in somebody, it means you take them at their word, you count on them to live up to what they say, you trust their counsel, and you have confidence in their promises. When Paul said, "I have kept the faith," he meant, "I have kept on taking Christ at His word, I have kept on counting on what He said, I have kept on trusting His counsel, I have kept on having confidence in His promises." The first thing we all can say is that keeping the faith will be hard. We must recognize that there will be stress and strain and discomfort involved. Keeping the faith must involve some sort of stress and discomfort to develop character and endurance. Therefore, it must be hard…but it can also be easy. Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

So, you see it is easy if you yoke up with Jesus.

It is clear if we give up in this fight and take the path of least resistance we will be defeated and not finish the race. We have to know that the Christian life is a fight and we have to know who we are fighting. We “identified the enemy”:

1.         Proud nature
2.         Satan

But we also went into depth about the three great weapons that we have to resist and defeat the enemies:

1.         The Spirit of God
2.         The Word of God
3.         Consistent Prayer Life

Now when we become  weary, one of the best ways to develop endurance and encouragement is to get to know the godly men and women of the Bible and of now who ran the race and won. We discussed and gave examples of those that never quit.  Below are just a few of those “Winners who never quit”.

•              Rev. Martin Luther King
•              Ghandi
•              Mother Teresa
•              Joseph
•              Noah
•              Job
•              Nehemiah
•              The Ultimate Winner – Jesus

Jesus was the ultimate winner, because beyond the cross was a crown, beyond the tomb was a throne. No, we are not Jesus but as a Christian, we must realize that Jesus is the forerunner, the first one in. But just like he did, we must endure the cross for the joy that will be revealed in us. God doesn’t want to hear once this race is over, Lord I’ve tried….he wants to hear Lord I endured; I fought this fight and ran this race with a persistent faith. Which leads us to the final goal…we must finish this race because as Matthew 24:13 says:

“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew 24 is considered the Olivet Discourse. This is where Jesus talks about the time of the Great Tribulation. There on the Mount of Olives he is speaking about the time of trial for the Church when false Gospels and false God’s will be rampant and the love of God grows cold. It’s the time near the second coming, when the Churches are being deceived and iniquity overflows as a great abandonment takes place in the congregations. It is argued that he was speaking of times that have passed and some say that he is speaking of times to come. But God’s divine word is just this way….it can apply to past and current times. Now the word “saved” must always be understood in its context. The word “Saved” is a Greek original word which may refer to any kind of deliverance. It can refer to physical deliverance or to some kind of spiritual deliverance. This passage is speaking about physical deliverance or the survival of those who last through the judgments of the tribulation. The disciples, who believed Jesus was that Messiah, were naturally anxious to know if the "time of the end" had come. There was great expectation that Jesus was about to announce that he was the messiah. It's not surprising then, that the disciples pressed Jesus about the nature and timing of his "coming."

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the excited disciples came to him privately to get some inside information. "`Tell us,' they said, `when will this happen, and “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”. They wanted to know when the things Jesus said about Jerusalem would take place, for they did not associate these with the end of the age and his "coming”. They didn’t understand that there would be a second coming.

Let's now notice how Jesus' conversation with his disciples unfolded. The first thing he did was warn the disciples not to be deceived by traumatic events that might make it appear as though "the end" was near. Tumultuous things would happen in the world, but "the end is still to come". Next, Jesus told his disciples that they would be persecuted and put to death. Jesus then began talking about a gospel to be preached to the whole world. After this, "the end" would come. Those who are believers and who survive until the end of that period of time will be saved, that is, delivered. This does not refer to a personal self-effort at endurance, but to physical deliverance of those who trust in the Savior. So Jesus was saying, if we endure to the end, He would deliver, save us!!! What an awesome promise!

So as you can see, the race is not given to the swift nor to the strong but to those that will endure. God has a plan that is divine and he is always working in our lives. It may not seem like it sometimes, but we must not be fooled to think that we are in control of our lives. We must realize that his plan will lead us to a purposeful and meaningful life if we allow Him take complete control of our life and our will. This is not to say that we will not encounter some bumps and have some bruises from the struggles, and things will always work out. Life will not be perfect.  But if we have faith in the master plan he has created for us and trust that he is divinely orchestrating everything in our life; all those mistakes, bad decisions, good decisions are going to work for our good. But for it to work…we have to keep moving...bulding endurance. And if we continue to endure as good soldiers, never giving up … reverencing God and honoring his commandments while fighting the enemy with a faith based consistency and persistency…. we will be delivered and we will receive our crown of righteousness in the end!! Hallelujah for our Sovereign God’s divine game plan!

Let’s make notes of the GAME PLAN to keep moving!

1.      Remember God’s knows the divine plan…make sure you are communicating with him to get a clue:      
         (Ecclesiastes 9:11 )
2.      Work past the pain of past and present hurts: (Acts 20:24)
3.      Get rid of what holds you back: (Hebrews 12:1)
4.      Don’t look back: (Philippians 3:14)
5.      Run to win: (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
6.      Remember the end goal: (Matthew 24:13)

Romans 5:3-4
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,”

On Friday August, 31, 2012, we resumed our Friday Fellowship and Prayer meetings after a summer break. We took a brief rest at the rest stop to spend time with our families, to refocus and to refeul. And after our 2 month respite, The Sanctuary is back on the “Road to Purpose” and we have started our engines by igniting “The Power Within.”

In our meeting on Friday we studied the book of Ephesians.  We discovered that the purpose of Paul writing the books of Ephesians was to strengthen the Christians in the church of Ephesus.  But we focused more on the 3rd chapter of Ephesians.  This book contains one of the most popular and most used verses in the bible.

Ephesians 3:20

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding and abundantely all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in.

While studying this I began to truly understand what this scripture really means. I am guilty of saying it to encourage myself and others, but after this study I truly understand how powerful it is. What I have come to understand through the lesson that I shared on Friday is that, without the power of God woking in you, there is no victory, there is no overcoming. We must understand unless we tap into the true pure power of God we will not have victory. To tap into the true power of God we must know that there are four main sources and they are:

1. The word of God.
2. Denying your self.
3.  A consistent prayer life.
4.  The name of Jesus.

But to tap into this power we have to understand fully what this power is. When God created us, he not only created us in his image but he breathed His breath in us,  he breathed inside of us the Spirit of the Living God and that Spirit brings with it the DUNAMIS or explosive power of God and with that comes the power to bring change in your life.

Dunamis is defined as: strength, power, ability;  the power for performing miracles; moral power and excellence of soul; the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth; power and resources arising from numbers; power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts.

Now doesn’t that definition describe and define our God? So I want you to really take time to understand this, that when God blew His own breath into our nostrils, He not only breathed in life but He also breathed in His POWER. That means that Dunamis power is within you and me and it’s from God. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is resident in each of us. 

Often times on this journey of discovery, I long to use all the power that is resident in my body. Yet I'm still learning how to control, ignite and use this incredible gift.

This gift of God’s power allows us to go from human to spirit and from spirit to human in an instance. And we must learn how to control this power within. We need to learn how and when to shift from human to spirit. It’s sort of like driving a manual (straight-drive) car. I know when my father taught me how to drive a straight drive he told me to listen to the engine in the car; it will tell you when to shift. And this can be applied here. If we are reading God’s word, praying and listening to the Holy Spirit, we will be instructed on when to shift. Where we have failed is either staying in the spirit to long or staying in the natural to long. We must be constantly listening for the leading of the Holy Spirit to know when to shift so that we do not burn out the clutch!

So we possess this Dunamis power. Why do we not use it? In most cases people are not inclined to consider God to be that deep. We would rather lead simple uneventful lives being content in the mundane. We must realize that we were never created for mundane simple uneventful lives and we cannot become content living in the mundane. We were created in God's image and likeness….God's life or existence is anything but ordinary or mundane.  We must stop seeing life through these ordinary eyes and see it from the extraordinary gift that is within us. Only then can we really appreciate and understand the true nature of God. God is amazing and we are amazing too. We have to realize our value and potential. Our value and potential is often times discovered when we experience as this quote by Bishop Mark Kariuki so eloquently stated,

“Unless the pain of where you are is greater than the pain of change, you will never change”

Simply put, when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, you discover and realize that you are better than and worth more than your present circumstance and you muster the courage and strength to change your situation. This is when you discover the power within.

So you discovered the power within, how do you ignite this power?  This power is not ignited in the echelon of convenience and comfort. It is ignited in struggles, in pain, in sorrow, in the wilderness. But in today’s society if you struggle, people look down upon you as though something is wrong with you as though you brought these suffering upon yourself. However if you look at scripture, through the greatest pain and the greatest struggles that’s when God is glorified the most. Look at the life of Job, or let’s take a look at Apostle Paul. He spent a great amount of time in prison as he was persecuted for spreading the good news of the Gospel. But Paul counted it as a privilege and as an honor that God chose him to be a chosen vessel. In Ephesians 3:7-8, Paul expressed this,   

“By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. “

Paul understood the power of self-denial! He also understood that to get through the struggles to activate the power within, you have to have a strong inner man.  When Paul wrote the Book of Ephesians he wrote 6 books. And these books are sort of a road map or resource to living a life in the fullness of Christ…a purposeful life. Ephesians chapters 1 through 3 are about what we have in Christ, 4 through 6 gets into application.  Ephesians 3 is where the transition takes place. He gives us instruction on how to turn on the engine.    In Ephesian 3 Paul’s is first, revealing God’s mysterious plan and secondly he is praying for spiritual growth.  In this prayer He says he is praying we would have a strong inner man.

Ephesians 3:16 
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being",

A strong inner man is so important because the pressures, distresses, troubles and trials of life that come not only upon us but upon others can tear up the inner man and devastate us and steal our joy, peace and render us useless for service and witness. People, even Christians, demonstrate an inability to cope with life and all of its difficulties. And life can be a very painful experience and a weak inner man will result in doubt, fear, anxiety, distrust, sin, frustration, and mental strain, emotional and spiritual imbalance. The inner man is the eternal part, the real you, the spirit, the soul, what and who you are. And Paul is saying I want that strong. But the goal of the prayer is that we might experience verse 20,  
 
Ephesians 3:20
"Now unto Him that is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE all that we ask or think, according to the POWER that worketh in.

This verse many of us have used, but do we truly know the meaning? Now we are about to turn the key and hear that powerful engine roar.  He wanted us to come to the place where the power of God within us is doing things that exceed our imagination. Paul describes God’s work as “exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” The more he thinks upon God’s power, the more he is stunned. The combination of these two words ‘exceeding abundantly’ is considered as a super superlative. A super superlative is defined as of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme. Although Paul has asked much, God can and is willing to grant more. In order to appreciate Paul’s super-superlative we should look at  Paul’s reasoning: “ God is able to do all we ask him to do;  He is even able to do all that we dare not ask but merely imagine; He can do more than this;  far more; very far more!”  Doesn’t that take your mind into another place? Paul prays that a series of great truths, great spiritual realities will take place in our lives that will cause us to exude the power of God to those who don’t believe. And then he concludes with the ultimate goal in verse 21:

Ephesians 3:21
“To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen”

Paul is saying in this verse God is well deserving of the “glory in the church” based on His power, wisdom, mercy, love, grace, and so forth. We must understand that God’s ultimate purpose in the earth and with man is to bring glory to His Name. He wants to specially display to all His creatures His most wonderful character and ways.  We must live for God’s glory and not our own. We need to decisively say to ourselves that our end goal is not to be a great man or woman of God, not to have a big or awesome church, to have all the wealth, status and riches. Our goal should be to bring glory to God.

This study lesson has changed my life forever. I now have the “road map” and my engine has been "ignited" and I have turned the key. I am ready to take to the road. I have the road map to the purpose and plan for my life. My inner man has been serviced and I have the necessary tools just in case I break down. I have come to realize that I possess the dunamis power within me to change my life, my community and my world but the ultimate purpose of all this is so that God can do exceeding, abundantly more than I could ask or think so that His power that worketh within me may bring Him all the glory.