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In Faith We Can Find Victory
By Doug Post
Sept 26, 2004

     “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12, ESV).
            God has called us both to a life of peace and to a life of conflict. This paradox exists because of the difficulties of the sinful world in which we live. In a perfect world, the way God intended, there would be no conflict - there would be only peace. Such a state has not existed since Eden and will not exist again until we enter the world to come. In this life there will always be conflict. The Apostle Paul writes “fight the good fight of the faith.” He does not in this passage identify against what we are fighting, but clearly he is describing the great struggle against the forces of Satan.
            The battle lines are drawn on many fronts, in the lives of individuals dealing with despair, in families feeling the pressures of the secular world, in congregations grappling with remaining faithful against the tide of apostasy. In every area of life we are called to engage the forces of darkness and to fight the good fight. While our struggle against Satan takes many forms, the conflict on a personal level comes down to one thing: remain faithful to the gospel of Christ. It was this gospel which provides us with eternal life, and which forms the substance of "the good confession." Paul instructs us to take hold of this truth in order to fight the good fight. Daily, in whatever form our struggle with evil may take, we must return to the one source of spiritual power. We must continually look to Jesus, for only in faith can we find victory.

How Many?
By Doug Post

Does God have one church or many? Let’s go to the Scriptures and find out. Please read the following passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow:

1.        "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23).
-          God made Christ the head of many churches.
-          God made Christ the head of one church.

Is it natural for one head to have many bodies?"

2.       "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25).
- The apostle Paul told husbands to love their wives as Christ also loved the churches and gave Himself for
   THEM.
- The apostle Paul told husbands to love their wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for
   IT.

How could Christ teach monogamy (Matthew 19:6; Romans 7:2,3) and then be guilty of polygamy? Can Christ (the husband) have (1) one bride/church, or (2) many brides/churches (Ephesians 5:23)?

3.       "To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made know by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purposes which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:10,11).
- Many churches (plural) were in the eternal purpose of God.
- The church (singular) was in the eternal purpose of God.

Since only one church was in the eternal purpose of God, from where did the hundreds of other churches originate? From man or God?

Defeating the Entitlement Attitude (Part 3) – 9/26/04
By Doug Post

Introduction

A We’ve been speaking about what I've called "Defeating the Entitlement Attitude."
    Today’s lesson will complete our consideration of this topic. Our text is Luke 17:7-10.

B. In the first message in this series I pointed out three general truths from this passage.
    -          First, God is the Master, we are the servants.
    -          Second, God is no one's debtor.
    -          Third, Everything that God gives us is a gift.

D. Last week, I made two applications: As the Master: 1.God has every right to treat me differently than His other Servants 2. God has every right to take back what He has given. Today, I want to make three more applications of these principles. Since God is still the Master and we are still the servants:

1. God Has Every Right to Expect You and Me to Be Good Stewards of What He Has Given.

A. Many preachers dislike preaching on the subject of giving.

B. But there is still the important issue of stewardship that needs to be taught.

C. A steward is the caretaker of another's property.

D. As God's servants, we are His stewards - stewards of things He has entrusted to us.

2. God Has Every Right to Expect You and Me to Give Grace to Others Even When they Don’t Deserve it.

A. Dr. James L. Wilson in an article entitled, "On Mission” (Refering to Article)

B. We are to be ambassadors for Christ. Must be different than non-Christian.

C. This concerns our Master. Colossians 4:6.

D. "Yes," but when someone doesn't give us our "just due," we give exactly what they have coming? I'm reminded of: Matt.5:7;Ja.2:13; Prov.19:11; Eph.4:29-32.

E. Recipients of God's grace need to be purveyors of grace themselves.

3. God Has Every Right to Expect Our Faithful Service to Him Even When Others Don't Seem to Recognize or Appreciate it.

A.This is big league stuff, isn't it? Can even be a problem for even the most dedicated.

B. Ray Stedman, Talking With My Father: Jesus Teaches on Prayer, makes valid point.

C. Yes, there are rewards for faithfulness, but not necessarily down here.

D. The problem is one of our own making. (Luke 17:10)

Conclusion

A.      The entitlement attitude is a joy killer. It flies in the face of God.

B.       Unchallenged, it will reclaim our souls back for the devil.

C.       God blesses us far beyond what we deserve or could earn.

Therefore:

God has every right to treat us differently than others if He so chooses.He has every right to take back everything He has given us if He so chooses. It’s His..He has every right to expect good stewardship from us. He has the right to expect us to be purveyors of the same grace He has given us.He has every right to expect continued service to Him even when it isn't recognized or appreciated.
Is the entitlement attitude living in you? Will you challenge it while you can?