Need for Grace & Humility

sermonindex Jan 13, 2010

I've been thinking. Been going through some of the threads. Been reading some of the posts. Including those of senior members.

Been thinking. Knowledge puffs up; but love edifies. 1 Cor 8.1b. We've been listening to lots of sermons; been reading lots of articles. We've got a lot of head knowledge. We think we know; but do we really KNOW?

Head-knowledge, Bible knowledge, knowledge of doctrine...can puff up, can make one arrogant.

The Bible speaks of knowing by experience. 'That I may know Him..' Phil 3.10.

We can hear all the sermons on SermonIndex and be the proudest, most Pharisaical people on earth. We are treading dangerous ground.

We cannot know Christ except through suffering. And suffering humbles us. What are we? We are simply 'sinners saved by grace'.

Oh, that we may be gracious & humble and not proud & puffed up. Theoretical discussions can never edify. Only love edifies. Love that comes through suffering (painful experience).

Lord, open the eyes of our heart. We need revelation. All our human wisdom and head knowledge can never bring us close to Thee!

In this respect I am delighted with the young members in Christ who display a freshness & vitality which those steeped in doctrine and 'knowledge' lack.

sermonindex Jan 13, 2010

We can hear all the sermons on SermonIndex and be the proudest, most Pharisaical people on earth. We are treading dangerous ground.
We cannot know Christ except through suffering. And suffering humbles us. What are we? We are simply 'sinners saved by grace'.
Oh, that we may be gracious & humble and not proud & puffed up. Theoretical discussions can never edify. Only love edifies. Love that comes through suffering (painful experience).
Lord, open the eyes of our heart. We need revelation. All our human wisdom and head knowledge can never bring us close to Thee!

Amen brother. Oh how we need a revelation and experience the grace and mercy of God afresh. Oh for such humility in our walks that you are speaking of.

sermonindex Jan 13, 2010

well you could be pro or you could be cyon.
You could be sue or you could be maria
but you are gonna have to serve somebody

M

MattSmith Jan 13, 2010

In this respect I am delighted with the young members in Christ who display a freshness & vitality which those steeped in doctrine and 'knowledge' lack.

We held a "revival" recently at the church I attend and this was spoken of. A member brought a "prophesy", or word from the Lord, that we needed Paul's to lead our Timothy's. With a Paul's knowledge and a Timothy's vitality there is much we can do as a body. Our old men need to share their dreams because it just may be we have been given a vision to accomplish said dream. We really need to love one another. The time is fast approaching when arguments that both sides can find biblical proof of will no longer matter. We do need revelation because we have a lot of work to do, and I'm going to repeat your post, pollux, if I keep going. Great post.

sermonindex Jan 14, 2010

Amen brother. Oh how we need a revelation and experience the grace and mercy of God afresh. Oh for such humility in our walks that you are speaking of.

Thank you, brother, for your response to the post. I believe it takes a lifetime to walk in grace & humility. Forums do have a tendency to bring out the 'flesh' in us. Perhaps, it's the feeling 'that I know more than you'; we may be doctrinally superior, but God looks at the heart and the life and the conduct (testimony). He is a practical God.

sermonindex Jan 14, 2010

Thanks, Matt, for your response. But young people do need to be handled with much love & care, especially those in their teens & twenties. They have zeal, but they must realize that God's knowledge is something that comes from 'revelation + experience'. Youth need to respect older people, no matter what the failings of older people may be. Experience (another word for suffering) is a great teacher.

One way the youth in our church learn is by going out for 'gospel campaigns' and roughing it. Learning the hard way what it means to live with others in the 'rough' (camping out) and sharing the gospel 'out on the streets' or 'in the backwoods'.

T

twayneb Jan 14, 2010

Pollux: You are absolutely right brother. There is knowledge about Him and then there is knowing Him in an intimate way. Phil 3:10 uses the same word "know" that was used of Joseph, "and he knew her not". It describes great intimacy. Both of these "knowings" should work together in the life of a believer. If I think, "Look what I have learned and how well I know this or that. I can debate the best in this area or that area. I can prove my point.", then I am puffed up with academic knowledge, but lack the intimate knowing. On the other hand, I need to add to my intimacy maturity of knowledge and faith that comes from a deep knowledge of the word. I need to study to show myself approved. Oh that we would have both in operation in our lives.

I believe a "generation" is really just all people alive at one particular point in time on the earth. If the Lord does not return first, and I fully expect He will, I will pass on and leave the work of the gospel in the hands of the next generation. This up and coming generation excites me. There is something different about many of them that is very tangible. They are not into learning doctrines and creeds, but they are very hungry for the word of God. They want to know HIM. Next year I will be 40. I figure that allows me the 50 most productive years of my life ahead of me. Oh that I may spend it imparting to the next generation a love for the word, and a desire for a deep and intimate knowing of Him.

Travis.

sermonindex Jan 14, 2010

Twayne, thanks for contributing. I was talking about living by faith in the promises of God, walking in the footsteps of Abraham. Proving God's word is true from our own personal experience. That our Lord Jesus Christ is 'faithful & true', and His word is 'faithful & true'. Doesn't the Book of Revelation repeat that?

M

MattSmith Jan 14, 2010

But young people do need to be handled with much love & care, especially those in their teens & twenties. They have zeal, but they must realize that God's knowledge is something that comes from 'revelation + experience'. Youth need to respect older people, no matter what the failings of older people may be. Experience (another word for suffering) is a great teacher.

Absolutely. At 32 I am on the edge of that younger generation. I need the guidance of the older folks. There is so much wisdom that needs to be shared. Unfortunately, I think older people have been treated with a lack of respect and tend to keep their experiences to themselves. Often times they are content to sit on the sidelines of ministry. We need them to come along, not step aside.

G

ginnyrose Jan 14, 2010

I think older people have been treated with a lack of respect and tend to keep their experiences to themselves.

And this is why they are too silent. Too many times the young will make fun of the older folks...We are told we are old-fashioned, hence of limited value.

Then some will keep on speaking, bearing the mockery with grace, but are careful less they cast their pearls before the swine. Takes a lot of energy - spiritual, mental, emotional, physical - to be old.

ginnyrose

sermonindex Jan 15, 2010

Too many times the young will make fun of the older folks...We are told we are old-fashioned, hence of limited value.

It's a tragedy, really. If the young mock the old, that church can never be blessed. The Bible, and the Book of Proverbs, tells us that we must respect the elderly.

sermonindex Jan 15, 2010

This is another thread that old residents of this Forum would do well to ponder upon. There is the habit of 'talking down' to people, merely because we have been 'here' longer than others.

Some of the posts of senior members seem to be more of pontifications. Christ is very very great; and despite all our experience, activities and 'achievements', we know Him only in part; and much of our 'knowledge' is a knowing 'about Him' rather than 'knowing Him'.

There is a freshness and vitality in knowing Christ, which tends to disappear in tedious and long-winded debate. I for my part am delighted when I see the posts (or read the testimonies) of young members charmed by the way Christ is working in their lives.

We must never lose the freshness, newness and vitality of the Christian life. What I call the Christ-life.