Paul's Letter to the Church of God

During Saint Paul’s era, it is common for people to dictate their letters to a secretary and then add their signature to it. Also, as pointed out by Dr William Barclay in his Daily Bible Study Series, the letters in those days would usually consist of the following sections: (i) The Greeting; (ii) The Prayer (for the health of the recipients); (iii) The Thanksgiving; (iv) The Special Contents (the main body of the letters); and (v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings.

Why did Paul write his letters or epistles, as they are commonly called? How come they can still speak to us through the years? Dr Barclay explains, “With a very few exceptions, all Paul’s letters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was something threatening in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, ‘Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation … he had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in the next generation, far less that one day people will look at them as Holy Scripture.’

We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paul’s letters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.”

Today, for our study and reflection, let’s refer  to 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (NKJV): “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In his greeting, Paul identified himself by his new name after conversion from Judaism to become a believer and follower of Jesus Christ and forsook his former identity as Saul of Tarsus. The name “Paul” is derived from the Roman family name Paulus, which meant “small” or “humble” in Latin. As for Saul (Saoul in Greek or Sha’ul in Hebrew) it denotes “asked for” or “prayed for”. He certainly never looked back. For example, he regarded himself as the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9) and consistently acknowledged that it was God who has called him to be an apostle; he did not pray or asked for it.

While Saul was still persecuting the churches and making his way to Damascus, he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-9). He was called to be a chosen vessel of Christ to bear His name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel and to suffer for His name’s sake (Acts 9:15-16).

Later on, as he testified before King Agrippa, Paul recalled the words of Jesus to him, “…for I have appeared before you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:16-18)

What I find amazing is the faith and obedience that Paul demonstrated to fulfill his calling. It wasn’t like he was launched off in double-quick time, smoothly, unchallenged and without perils to become a prominent apostle of Jesus Christ. After his calling, Paul immediately went to the synagogues preaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Jews were furious and plotted to kill him. “But their plot became known to Paul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a larges basket.” (Acts 9:24-25; NKJV)

As explained by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:32-33 (NKJV), “In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to apprehend me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”

Paul then went to Jerusalem but the disciples there found it hard to accept his sudden turnaround. Moreover, he disputed against the Greek-speaking Jews, but they attempted to kill him. “When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.” (Acts 9:30; NKJV)  

From his letter to the Galatians, we understand that Paul “went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus” (Galatians 1;17b; NKJV); “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to se Peter, and remained with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18; NKJV); and “Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.” (Galatians 1:22; NKJV); and “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.” (Galatians 2:1; NKJV)

Indeed, Paul endured much suffering just as Jesus Christ had said he would for his calling. Consider Paul’s account in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 (NKJV): “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness – besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”

Paul was diligent to make his calling and election as an apostle of Jesus Christ sure. It was an apostleship that is rooted in Christ and for the glory of Christ. He was not an apostle for his own satisfaction and achievement; he was nothing apart from Christ. Dr C. Peter Wagner briefly defines an ‘Apostle’ as a: “Christian leader who is gifted, taught, and commissioned by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the Church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.”

Also, he pointed out that his calling was by divine initiative (“by the will of God”). He set this out clearly in Galatians 1:1 (NKJV), “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead). To this, we can add divine revelation, as well, from what he disclosed in Galatians 1:11-12, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul recognized that the Church is primarily the Church of God, regardless of whether it is located at Corinth or elsewhere. He described the Christian as: (i) one who is set apart to God by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (i.e., positional sanctification); (ii) one who is marked out and being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit as specially belonging to God and devoted to God’s service (i.e., progressive sancitifcation); and (iii) one who is part of a community of believers worldwide.      

Finally, as Dr Barclay explains, “Paul speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then, as it were, he corrects himself and adds their Lord and ours. No man, no Church, has exclusive possession of Jesus Christ. He is our Lord but he is also the Lord of all men. It is the amazing wonder of Christianity that all men possess all the love of Jesus Christ, that “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.” ”

Thus in just the aforesaid three verses from 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, we have much to understand and deepen our knowledge of God’s Word. You may wish to ponder over the following questions and emulate the example of Saint Paul:

a)                  Have I truly embraced my new identity in Christ by seeing myself in the mirror of God’s Word?

b)                  Am I living out my calling in Jesus Christ or am I still enslaved to self and sin?

c)                  Am I growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ?

The following selected manifesto from Saint Paul is for your takeaway:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

_______________________________________________________________________

Bibliography:

1.                  The Daily Bible Study Series (Revised Edition): The Letters to the Corinthians – translated with an Introduction and Interpretation by William Barclay 

2.                  Meaning of “Paul” and “Saul” (Source: http://www.behindthename.com/name/)

3.                  Definition of “Apostle” (Source: http://www.coalitionofapostles.com/about-ica/definition-of-apostle/)

4.                  The NIV Study Bible by The Zondervan Corporation 

The Believer's Authority

My Senior Pastor, Rev Dr Kong Hee, commended “The Believer’s Authority” by Kenneth E. Hagin in a recent sermon. That got me interested and so I purchased a copy of it from Mount Zion Christian Books & Gifts Centre Pte Ltd.

In this 76-pages book, Pastor Hagin shared on how he started on a study back in the 1940s to answer this gnawing question, “Do we have authority that we don’t know about – that we haven’t discovered – that we’re not using?”

According to him, “The authority of the believer is unveiled more fully in the Book of Ephesians than any other epistle written to the churches.” In particular, he personalized Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 1:16-20 and Ephesians 3:14-19 by saying “my” or “me” wherever Paul said “you”.

For example, he would pray Ephesians 1:17 as follows: That the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Having personalized and prayed these prayers more than a thousand times over a period of about six months, the spirit of revelation began to function and he started seeing things in the Bible he had never seen before!

For example, in Luke 10:19 (KJV), Jesus said, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

However, an accurate translation from the Greek words for “power” and “authority’ would read thus, “I have given you AUTHORITY to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy …” All the power belong to God (e.g., Revelation 5:13).

AUTHORITY IS DELEGATED POWER. Just like how a traffic policeman directs traffic with power from the government he represents and serves. Pastor Hagin also share this prophesy: The Holy Spirit says, “Power on earth invested in the name of Jesus Christ and obtained by Him through His overcoming the enemy belongeth unto the Church. Therefore, exercise that authority, for it belongs to you on the earth, and in this life ye shall reign by Christ Jesus.”

Now, this ought to revolutionize our prayer life. Instead of begging God to answer our prayer when the devil mess with us and reasoning that God’s reply might be a “Yes”, “No” or “Not now”, it’s about time we get this revelation of the believer’s authority and start exercising it.

For example, in John 14:13-14, Jesus said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do…. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it”. The Greek word here is “demand,” not “ask.”

Flowing from this, we can do something about the attacks of the enemy and we pray from a position of delegated authority with boldness in the knowledge of who and whose we are. Our prayers would no longer be wimpy and sound more like these:

“In the Name of Jesus, I break the power of the devil over my brother’s life, and I claim his salvation!” (No problem here; it’s fully in accord with God’s Word and His will.)

“Come out, thou unclean devil, in the Name of Jesus!” (Amen, to this.)

The aforesaid treasury of revelation is gleaned from Chapter 1 to 4. Invest in a copy of “The Believer’s Authority” today and revolutionize your prayer life.

It’s well worth it as we live out the Word of God shown to us by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.

The Key to the Man of God’s Strength

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 (NIV)

“The key to David’s strength, to his victories and successes can be found in the Psalms he wrote. All the time, he was saying, ‘O God, I seek Your face; I want to be in Your presence.’ Pleasing God was not a boring duty to David but the longing of a lover for his beloved.”  (Source: page 68, Prayer Changes Nations by Ulf Ekman)

Consider the longing of David’s heart in the following 2 verses:

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:13-14 (NKJV)

God is the Strength of our life. As Paul has said by the revelation of Jesus Christ:

 ^“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

We need to come to our secret place and fellowship with God so that He will reveal to us the hidden truths contain in His Word and obey what He says. Jesus says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:23b – 24 (NKJV)

Let’s stir up our faith by hearing the word of God constantly and take up the passion of Christ to please our Heavenly Father.

Before the Foundation of the World

God is eternal. He lives in a realm where time, as we know it, does not exist. Thus, God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He is the beginning and the end; the Alpha and Omega. To God, today is the day of our salvation.

With God, our healing is a reality; by the stripes on Jesus’ body we are healed. There is no time lag between truth and reality. The word of God doesn’t say “going to be healed”. In the presence of God, His word reaches the fullness of time (kairos moment) and become a living word for us (rhema). Verily, verily, God words do not return to Him void.

If God is very happening, then what we need is revelation by the Spirit of God to take hold of God’s truth and translate them into a present reality.

Hear now the word of God concerning what He has already done for us before the foundation of the world:

“He (Jesus) indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” 1 Peter 1:20 (NKJV)

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,” Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV)

If the aforesaid truths are too overwhelming for you, then you may find the following more manageable:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)

“For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.” Psalms 139:13-16 (NKJV)

Hey, God knows us from way back. What makes us think He doesn’t know about our present circumstances or our future, for that matter?

The truth of God’s word reflects God’s integrity:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)

The carnal mind which is trained by worldly system of thinking cannot comprehend the truths of God. We need to have revelation so that the hidden truths could be revealed to us. Here then is Paul pray for the believers in Ephesus:

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:17-18 (NKJV)

Let’s pray the aforesaid prayer over ourselves so that we can grow in the grace as well as the knowledge of Christ – having the mind of Christ, knowing what He knows concerning spiritual truths and moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. All glory be to God!

Hearing the Word of God

One of the biggie revelation for me in 2012 is: Faith Comes By Hearing. And, I received this revelation only after hearing it over and over again from Pastor Jerry Savelle and his daughter Terri Savelle Foy through their media channel at www.jerrysavelle.org.

Yes, I am sure many of us are already well versed with Romans 10;17 (NKJV):-

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

There is power in the the spoken word. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. The words that Jesus speaks are Life and Spirit to us.

While I may read the word of God and hear it play out in my mind, it is a different experience and impact altogether when I read the word of God audibly and hear it with my ears. Likewise, if I were to hear a preacher expounding the word of God, it would come across in manner that is richer than merely reading his sermon text. Imagine the world of difference between discerning the "chirping" of a bird in written text and actually hearing a bird sing.

Maybe it is due to the sound waves generated by speech, or perhaps the word of God is best sown when it is spoken. For sure we can read, study, meditate and memorize the word of God. But, there is a distinct benefit for us to hear the word of God; for faith comes by hearing the word of God.

The further revelation for me was not to just listen to the word of God during church service and cell group meeting. I can listen to the word of God everyday! How? Through CDs, MP3 and the internet.

As such, I would like to recommend, for starters, that you listen to the word of God at web sites such as:
http://www.jerrysavelle.org/media/; http://edition.konghee.com/broadcast/; and http://ww2.joelosteen.com/Broadcast/Pages/ThisWeeksMessage.aspx

And, grab hold of CDs by:-

1) Pastor Kong Hee (e.g., "Being a Possibility Thinker" comprising : The Life Cycle of a Dream; Goals Setting for Success; Seven Steps to Goal Setting; Seven Principles of Possibility Thinking; Walking in Truth; The Power of an Apology; and Your Attitude towards Problems, and "Your Mind & Self-Image" comprising: The Mind of Christ and Your Self-Image; The Conscious and Sub-Conscious Mind; How to R-E-N-E-W Your Mind; Breaking the Scarcity Mind-Set; and Transformed by the Renewed Mind); and

2) Pastor Joel Osteen (e.g., "The Dream In You" comprising: Become What You Believe; Giving Your Dreams a New Beginning; and Making Plans to Succeed, and Experiencing the Multiplication of God (TWICE THE LIFE) comprising: Looking Beyond Where You Are; God has More in Store; Making Plans to Live a Blessed Life; and Broaden Your Life).

As faith arise in us to live life forward with God more closely than ever before, our mess can become a message and our test can become a testimony to the Glory of God. Hear the Word of God, and live life more abundantly!

Our Response to the Voice of God

On 28 December 2012 morning, while commuting to work, the following Bible verse from Isaiah 30:21 (NKJV) popped up on my mobile phone:-

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.

Having read and reflected on it, I left it at that and immersed myself with activities for the day. After work, I would take the train and alight at an interchange station and changeover to another train for my final stop. That evening though at the interchange, I had a clear and deep impression to board the next train towards its centre segment although I would usually get in at the front segment to my right.

I felt good and at peace to follow the prompting although I do not understand what this could mean. No big deal, I thought to myself. If that's what the Holy Spirit is directing, then that's what I need to do. Well, from the little experiences that I had had before on other circumstances, I have found that God already know in advance that which has not unfolded in the realm of time.

It was a humdrum ride and I alighted coolly at my final stop. As I proceeded to the exit, lo and behold, I saw one of my cell group member, Charles Cheong, seated on a bench waiting for the train which will be coming on the adjacent platform and heading to the opposite direction. Man, was I glad to bump into him. I felt like I had not seen him for the longest time (we were together in cell group meeting two Fridays ago). We talked and fellowshipped for a while before I went on my way.

Then, I knew what God was setting me up for. This is but a small glimpse of divine connection. It's like what Pastor Steven Furtick says in his book "Greater" that while we dream big dreams, we start smaller -- a whole lot smaller. In this connection, he also recalled that the German-born evangelist Reinhard Bonke had preached before that "Peter didn't actually walk on the water. He went walking on the word. He stepped out onto c-o-m-e." (page 45, Greater, by Steven Furtick).

Dear friends, the issue for us today is not whether God is still speaking. The truth is God is always speaking to us. Consider, Hebrews 1:1~2 (NIV):-

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe

As we spend time with God and study His word, we will hear His Voice. Get hold of Bible study resources in print or on the internet (e.g., www.biblegateway.com), and let the Holy Spirit teach us: What does the Word say?; What does it mean?; and How does it apply to me?.

Truly and verily, Jesus says to us in John 10:27 (NKJV) and Revelation 3:20 (NKJV) as follows, respectively,:-

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

God loves us and knows everything about us-- our hope, aspirations, dreams, shortcomings, shame, and what-nots. But, hey, God is speaking to us through Jesus today. And, eventhough, Jesus has ascended to heaven and seated at God's right hand, He has not left us as orphans by sending the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us in the way that we ought to proceed for His glory.

The crux of the matter is: What is our response to the voice of God? Will we come to Him when He says, "Come!" Will we go to all the worlds, when He says, "Go!"

There is no other way to be happy IN JESUS, but to Trust & Obey. After all, Almighty God Himself has this to say concerning His only begotten Son:-

Matthew 17:5 (NKJV)
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

Mark 9:7 (NKJV)
And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Luke 9:35 (NKJV)
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

As we raise our flutes to greet the New Year 2013, let's toast it with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- Who is THE SUPREMO WHO'S WHO of our life.

The Fruit of Our Lips

"The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45 (Amp.)

A good tree brings forth good fruit; we are what we say, to a large and evident extent. As a fig tree will only bring forth figs, the Christian has all the potential to produce fruit of righteousness stemming from his right standing with God through faith in Christ. The challenge is: How good and healthy are we as a tree which we cultivate in Christ? And, how fruitful are we?

To be a good tree, the ground of our heart (the inward man) has to be receptive to the imperishable seed of God's words. This is how Hosea 10:12 (NKJV) addresses the condition of our uncultivated heart, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you."

A fallow ground, as explained by Charles G. Finney, is "ground which has once been tilled, but which now lies waste, and needs to be broken up and mellowed, before it is it is ready to receive grain." It is up to us to soften our heart of flesh and open the valves for God's word to renew and refresh us.

Our spirit man need to arise and tune-in to what the Holy Spirit has to teach, instruct and reveal to us from the word of God -- that which our intellect cannot comprehend. Our intellect, which is insistent on getting answers to the what-how-where-who-why, will hinder us from grasping spiritual truths.

Thus, we need to humble ourselves before God and let our every thoughts be subject to the authority of God's words. As we obey God's words, eventhough we do not yet see the truth of His words being manifested fully in our current reality, we may have to tackle certain unscriptural (wicked, evil, false, misguided) thoughts which have become so ingrained in us that they form a stronghold in our mind. We need to renew our mind by the hearing of God's words so that we can be set free from this stranglehold of erroneous thinking and believing so that we can lay hold of the ideal Christian life that God has all along intended for us.

As we feed on the word of God which is like a life-giving river, we can flourish as a fruitful tree. So, we need to position ourselves to be in the word of God and let His words passed our mind and into our heart (spirit). This is the picture that we can hold up in our mind and spirit from Psalms 1:1-3 (Amp.):-

Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

Jesus likens us to branches that are joined to Himself, our True Vine, from whom we draw our nutrients. When we are truly in Christ, we can ask God expectingly for our life to produce fruit. Jesus said, "If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7 (Amp.) 

God loves to be oversee our frutifulness. Today, I caught a glimpse of this truth from the following 2 verses while writing:-

"When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine." John 15:8 (Amp.)

"I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing." John 15:11 (Amp.)

It is thus vital for us to guard what gets into us as we sojourn on this earth and approriate God's supreme powerful rule over our life. Whether we spout poetry or talk thrash; speak life or death; bless or curse; or makes positive or negative confessions, it has a lot to do with the sources of these words that we are hanging out with.

For example, there is a whole spread of resources on the internet that are of this world fighting for our attention. But, thankfully, there is also a growing presence of God's words, too, in writings, music and video. Which would we choose?

Much like food, we don't have to choose what we know is bad for us. For the believers, our constant decisions, wise or poor, will develop into habits, shape us and, ulitmately, affect our destiny in terms of salvation and rewards.

God's desire for us is to bear fruit and one prominent aspect of this fruifulness would be in the words that come forth from our mouth. He is looking for His kind of Life-giving water from the fruit of our lips. Consider the following:-

"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23 (Amp.)

"He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor)." John 7:38-39 (Amp.)

When we feed on God's word as we learn at His feet under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, mix His words with faith and obey them, our speech will be gracious and packed with God's authority; for out of the abundance our heart, our mouth speaks. Check these out:-

"Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]." Colossians 4:6 (Amp.)

"Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it)." 1 Peter 4:11 (Amp.)

Yes, we can minister to one another in the Body of Christ with our words. But, hey, we can also bless God with the fruit of our lips. While it is true that God is omnipresent, don't you think that there are places and persons that He rather be at and with?

Psalms 22:3 speaks of God dwelling in the praises of the descendants of Israel (Jacob), to whose faimly the Gentile believers belong by adoption in Christ Jesus, while John 14:23 speaks of God making His home with those who keep His words (obey His teaching).

What shall we say then? "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)