SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2021 10:16 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “Character”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 7:16-20
Message of the verses: “16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not
gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So
every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good
tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So
then, you will know them by their fruits.”
I
mentioned in our last SD that I would give a quotation from Martyn Lloyd-Jones
as we begin this SD, and then after that there will be a few more comments and
then we will be finished with this sub-section on character.
“A Christian can generally
be known by his very appearance. The man
who really believes in the holiness of God, and who knows his own sinfulness
and the blackness of his own heart, the man who believes in the judgment of God
and the possibility of hell and the torment, the man who really believes that
he himself is so vile and helpless that nothing but the coming of the Son of
God from heaven to earth and His going to the bitter shame and agony and cruelty
of the cross could ever save him, and reconcile him to God—this man is going to
show all that in his personality. He is
a man who is bound to give the impression of meekness, he is bound to be
humble. Our Lord reminds us here that if
a man is not humble, we are to be very wary of him. He can p;ut on a kind of sheep’s clothing,
but that is not true humility, that is not true meekness. And if a man’s doctrine is wrong, it will
generally show itself at this point. He
will be affable and pleasant, he will appeal to the natural man, and to the
things that are physical and carnal; but he will not give the impression of
being a man who has seen himself as a hell-bound sinner, and who has been saved
by the grace of God alone. (Studies in
the Sermon on the Mount vol.2 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977], pp. 258-59).”
Talking
about false prophets or mostly in the case of “false pastors” as we are talking
about the church today is a very important subject that we have been looking at
for some time now, and again it is important to be diligent in knowing how we
as believers can spot them. I have set
under, for the most part wonderful men of God, and when there came a time when
I had a great deal of problems with one of our Pastors it was time to pick up
and leave a church where I had been for over 32 years, but that is what I did
and am so thankful to the Lord that He moved our family to First Baptist Church
of Elyria where I can continue to learn and grow in the Lord.
John
MacArthur writes “It is nearly always the case that the false prophets will attack
avowed (affirmed) unbelievers as well as nominal and carnal believers.” If you think about this important statement
then you will understand the importance of staying in the Word of God each day,
to be like what Paul writes to Timothy which I have chosen for the name of my
Blogs “2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be
ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” MacArthur goes on “He appeals to the natural
man and carefully avoids anything that is offensive to man’s proud, fallen nature. He makes a point of being attractive,
likeable, and of giving no offense.”
We
conclude this SD with a quotation from John Calvin who said “Nothing is more
difficult to counterfeit than virtue.”
He is talking about a false prophet who will eventually let people know
that he is not the genuine leader that has been called by the Lord to lead
people. Watch out for false believers.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I desire to be on alert and not be affected
by any false prophet or teacher, that the Holy Spirit of God would be the One
who protects me from them.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord to show me how He
wants me to proceed in revival. I trust
the Lord to do this as I continue to pray to Him about this very important work
that truly needs to be done.
2/22/2021 10:46 AM
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