sanctification – Page 15 – Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

How Can I Be Certain I’m Saved?

The Character of Genuine
SAVING FAITH*

2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

**Scripture is the measuring stick we use for examining ourselves. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19:7-8)
**Direction, not perfection.

1: EVIDENCES THAT NEITHER PROVE NOR DISPROVE ONE’S FAITH

A. Visible Morality:	Matt. 19:16–21; 23:27. *Rom. 3:10
B. Intellectual Knowledge: **Notre Dame professor on O’Reilly	Rom. 1:21; 2:17ff.
C. Religious Involvement:	Matt. 25:1–10
D. Active Ministry: Justin Peters Lecture 1 Justin Peters Lecture 2	Matt. 7:21–24
E. Conviction of Sin:	Acts 24:25
F. Assurance:	Matt. 23
G. Time of Decision:	Luke 8:13, 14

2: THE FRUIT/PROOFS OF AUTHENTIC/TRUE CHRISTIANITY:

**These are not things we strive to do, but what God works in our hearts as He sanctifies us day by day.

A. Love for God:	Ps. 42:1ff; 73:25; Luke 10:27; Rom. 8:7; **1 John 4:19
B. Repentance from Sin:	Ps. 32:5; Prov. 28:13; Rom. 7:14ff; 2 Cor. 7:10; 1 John 1:8–10; **Psalm 119:128
C. Genuine Humility:	Ps. 51:17; Matt. 5:1–12; James 4:6, 9ff.
D. Devotion to God’s Glory:	Ps. 105:3; 115:1; Is. 43:7, 48:10ff.; Jer. 9:23, 24; 1 Cor. 10:31.
E. Continual Prayer:	Luke 18:1; Eph. 6:18ff.; Phil. 4:6ff.; 1 Tim. 2:1–4; James 5:16–18
F. Selfless Love:	1 John 2:9ff, 3:14; 4:7ff.
G. Separation from the World:	1 Cor. 2:12; James 4:4ff.; 1 John 2:15–17, 5:5
H. Spiritual Growth:	Luke 8:15; John 15:1–6; Eph. 4:12–16
I. Obedient Living: J. Hunger for God’s Word K. Transformation of Life	Matt. 7:21; John 15:14ff.; Rom. 16:26; 1 Pet. 1:2, 22; 1 John 2:3–5 1 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Cor. 5:17

If List I is true of a person and List II is false, there is cause to question the validity of one’s profession of faith. Yet if List II is true, then the top list will be also.

3: THE CONDUCT OF THE GOSPEL:

A. Proclaim it: Matt. 4:23

B. Defend it: Jude 3

C. Demonstrate it: Phil. 1:27

D. Share it: Phil. 1:5

E. Suffer for it: 2 Tim. 1:8

F. Don’t hinder it: 1 Cor. 9:12

G. Be not ashamed: Rom. 1:16

H. Preach it: 1 Cor. 9:16

I. Be empowered: 1 Thess. 1:5

J. Guard it: Gal. 1:6:-8

*This document was written by Dr. John MacArthur and is part of the MacArthur Study Bible notes. It can be found on line here.

**Supplementary information I have added to Dr. MacArthur’s original document.

Poetry, Sanctification, Suffering

Crafted Like Christ

July 2, 2013January 25, 2016 Michelle Lesley

crafted like christ “Lord, make me more like Jesus,” I prayed.
“Yes, Beloved. I will,” He smiled.
He began to lay out the tools of His trade,
A sculptor’s tools, for shaping His child.

“Oh no, Lord, not those,” I gently whined,
As chisel and mallet He took in hand,
“Use instruments of a softer kind,
To help me walk as faith demands.”

“See, over here, the tools I’ve laid,
To gladden my spirit and brighten my eye.
Surely, the velvet cloth of blissful days,
Will change my heart into one like Christ’s.”

“And here,” I went on, “Another I’ve brought,
A feathered brush of comfort and ease,
To keep at bay life’s dust and rot,
This will bring holiness, certainly.”

“At end, I’ve laid a pleasant salve,
Of bountiful health and silver and gold,
Take this, Lord; it’s yours to have,
To make me for the gospel bold.”

“Wish you to remain a stone?”
I heard my Master say,
“My tools are used to chip and hone
What looks not like Christ away.”

“The mallet of trial, the chisel of need,
The grind of suffering,
These in love and grace I wield,
To conform you to the likeness of your King.”

“Your implements will come, in time,
Velvet will dry the tears you weep,
Feathers brush off toil’s grit and grime,
Salve, your deepest pain will ease.”

“This will make me like my Lord?” I groaned in disbelief…
“Do not spurn my tools, my child” my God said, lovingly,
“For Christ was a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief,
And learned obedience through suffering.”

Faith, Prayer

Hamartiology Hits the Homefront

March 1, 2013August 8, 2024 Michelle Lesley

I admit it. I struggle against sin. A lot of sin. Often.

Sometimes it’s a small, easily won skirmish. Sometimes it’s a hard fought, bloody battle. Yesterday, God helped me take a hill.

For a couple of weeks, I’d been feeding on this sort of casserole of worry, doubt, fear, unbelief, distrust, and frustration with the Lord. I needed Him to act, and He wasn’t acting. Every time I tried to pray about the issues that were tempting me into this mélange of anxiety, I ended up feeling even more anxious.

So I quit praying about it. Smart and spiritually mature, huh?

“Lord, You know what all these issues are. Please, just handle it.”

From time to time, it can be helpful to pray like that. But not when you’re using it as a semi-spiritual cover for avoidance, which is what I was doing.

Yesterday, I finally heard the bugle sound the call to arms. I felt God pushing me toward the battle line. The urgency to pray through this mess was absolutely compelling.

So I laid it all out before God. Every last bit of it.

And as I did, conviction of sin rolled in.

Sometimes we think of conviction as a negative thing. It makes us feel bad. Guilty. Humiliated.

But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit is really a good thing for the Christian. It gives us pinpoint accuracy and clarity on exactly how we’re offending God. It gets everything out in the open and brings things to a head so that we can repent, be made right with Him, and start fresh. None of us are so weak that we can’t deal with a little guilt if it pushes us up and over the wall of repentance to reconciliation. Buck up, soldier.

As I continued to pray, God began bringing all manner of applicable Scripture to my mind (this is how God speaks to us—through His written word). I remembered how God dealt with the ungrateful, complaining Israelites in the wilderness. I also remembered what David said in Psalm 103:2-3

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,

I realized my sin was a double edged sword of commission and omission. It wasn’t just what I was doing—doubting and worrying—it was also what I wasn’t doing—being thankful and remembering how God had been faithful to me in the past.

It reminded me of the way wind is formed. Warm air rises into the atmosphere, and cold air rushes in to fill the void left by the warm air. Voids don’t last long in our spiritual lives. Something is always rushing in to fill them.

At the end of a long day of fighting, my doubt, fear, unbelief, worry, distrust, and frustration lay on the battlefield as bloody casualties, replaced by fresh, mighty warriors of faith, gratitude, love, and remembrance.

Sin. It’s the only battle you can win by surrendering.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Psalm 103

Sin. It’s the only battle you can win by surrendering.
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Faith

Back to the Basics, Part 1: Grab God’s Hand

January 12, 2011September 2, 2024 Michelle Lesley

Every year at this time, there’s a lot of talk about New Year’s resolutions. The new year seems to bring with it a feeling of starting fresh, getting a do-over. I’ve never really been one for making resolutions, but this year, New Year’s coincided with some work God was doing in my life to give me a fresh start.

Sometimes we can get into a rut in our spiritual lives, a rut that’s too deep to just step out of by making a few minor adjustments. God has to reach down and pull us up and out of it. That’s where I was. Spiritually, I felt dry; as if God were in the other room, and I couldn’t quite find the door to get to Him. My Bible study and prayer time were shallow and hit-and-miss at best, and I was frustrated.

In answer to my crying out to Him, the Lord began to pull me up out of that rut. As He did, what He showed me was that I needed to get “back to the basics” in my spiritual life. This article is the first in a series exploring the basics God is leading me back to.

Grab God’s Hand

Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5

Looking back, I can see that one of the ways I got into my rut in the first place was some “stinkin’ thinkin'”. My spiritual life was just beginning to show some signs of dryness around the edges. I thought it was because I was doing my Bible study and prayer time out of habit every day rather than doing them because I felt a supernatural draw to them.

I decided that, rather than have my time with the Lord as a built in part of my every day schedule, I would ask God to give me a hunger for Him and his Word, and that when I felt that longing for Him, I would spend time with Him. I honestly did this with the best of intentions, because I felt myself slipping away from the Lord and wanted to be close to Him again.

Good intentions are a great thing, but if the action they inspire is wrong, the intention is worthless.
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Good intentions are a great thing, but if the action they inspire is wrong, the intention is worthless. The action has to be the correct one. Mine was not. John Wesley said, “A fanatic is one who seeks desirable ends, but ignores constituted means.” “Constituted means” simply refers to the normal order of operations God has set up. For example, if I want a cake– a desirable end –I don’t hit my knees, ask God to send me a cake, and then go look in the oven to see if it’s there. I go to my cabinet, get out the ingredients, mix them up, and bake them. Those are God’s constituted means by which I can get cake.

It works the same way in our spiritual lives. Holiness, sanctification (spiritual growth), and hunger for the things of God aren’t three wishes magically granted by a genie, even if you call that genie “God”. You have to use God’s “constituted means” – the work of the Spirit and your obedience – to get there.

Holiness, sanctification, and hunger for the things of God aren’t three wishes magically granted by a genie. You have to use God’s “constituted means” – the work of the Spirit and your obedience – to get there
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Paul describes our walk with the Lord as a race or athletic event. You don’t just rub a lamp, make a wish, and, BAM! you’re a great athlete. You get up every day and train and condition whether you feel like it or not. Some days, you’ll be excited about working out, other days, you’ll want to stay in bed, but regardless of how you feel, you still do it. It’s the “doing it” that creates the desire to hone your abilities more, and makes you love the sport more.

Likewise, we will never develop holiness and a closer walk with the Lord just by asking Him for them and then sitting and waiting. As we ask, we have to do the work of study and prayer– even when we don’t feel like it. It is in the “doing it” that God creates the hunger for more of Him. I discovered as I waited and waited for God to draw me close to His side that I was slipping farther and farther away from Him. I was trying to get to my desired end without using His constituted means.

So, when we’re down in that rut we can’t get out of, we should cry out to God to reach down and lift us out of it, but that’s not all. When God extends His hand to pull us out, we’ve got to reach up and grab hold of Him and hang on, even when we don’t feel like it. That’s called obedience, and Jesus said if we love Him, we’ll obey Him.

There are going to be some dry spells. After all, God didn’t talk to Moses from the burning bush every day, now did He? The answer is not to ask God to set the bush on fire, but to hang on to Him in faith when all we see in front of us is a charred pile of sticks.

The answer is not to ask God to set the bush on fire, but to hang on to Him in faith when all we see in front of us is a charred pile of sticks.
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Keep walking, keep obeying, keep seeking Him. He has promised we’ll find Him.

Church, Sanctification

Revive Us Again

August 12, 2009May 8, 2017 Michelle Lesley

Thirty three per cent of clergy and thirty six per cent of laymen
report having visited a sexually explicit web site.
Christianity Today survey, August 2000

The divorce rate of born-again Christians (32%)
is higher than that of atheists and agnostics (30%).
Barna Research Group 2008

Twenty per cent of women who have abortions
are born-again or Evangelical Christians.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1996

We rarely find substantial differences between
the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians.
George Barna, Founder, Barna Research Group

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless,
how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out
and trampled under foot by men.
Jesus, Matthew 5:13

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, my parents took my sister and me to visit some of our elder relatives. For the evening meal, the lady of the house set a beautiful, formal table, complete with lovely crystal salt cellars at each place.

Having attended approximately zero formal dinners in my decade-long, casual dining existence, I had never seen a salt cellar. Since it happened to be sitting next to my goblet of unsweetened iced tea, I presumed it was my own personal sugar bowl.

I was puzzled as to why the spoon was so tiny, but forged ahead in an attempt to sweeten my tea with spoonful after spoonful…of salt. After one swig, I realized my mistake, but to maintain decorum, I did my best to eat my meal while taking an occasional small sip of the tea-flavored salt water. It was a long dinner.

I have never been so thirsty for a fresh drink of water before—or since—that moment.

We, the body of Christ, are supposed to be salt. Look around. How are we doing? By and large, instead of the church making the world thirsty for the Living Water, we have become so worldly ourselves that we are in danger of losing our savor altogether.

The Western church, the American church, the local church, maybe even your church—is in desperate need of revival. Not a revival meeting. Revival.

Revival is not a special event to win the lost. It is a time when God’s people, both individually and corporately, humble themselves, cry out to God in repentance and return to a fresh, empowered, obedient love relationship with Him.

Aren’t you tired of seeing statistics like the ones at the beginning of this article? Tired of the church having so little impact on a lost and dying world? Tired of simply going through the motions in your spiritual life and at church? Have you ever, as I have, taken a step back, looked at your walk and your worship, and said, “There’s got to be more to the Christian life than this”?

There is more. Much more. God desires that we have a full, exciting, vibrant, dynamic relationship with Him. But it’s going to cost us. It will cost our pride, our time, our repentance, our obedience, and our priority. It will require that we become dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the status quo of complacency.

I think we’re up for the challenge.

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
and revive me in Your ways.
Psalm 119:37