The God of love writes the names of the people who believe in Jesus Christ in the Book of Life, makes them His children, and sends the Helper, the Holy Spirit, into their hearts as a gift. The Holy Spirit gives birth to spirit in them, guides them in the recovery of the image of God that men lost due to Adam's transgression, and leads them to stand on the rock of faith and become men of spirit.
For better understanding of the level of faith that is to 'stand on the rock of faith' and the faith that is of spirit, let's think about watermelons. After we get rid of the external dirt and foreign substances from the rind of the watermelon, it can be likened to the level of 'standing on the rock of faith'. This is because only when we stand firmly on the truth can we lay our foundation in running towards sanctification as God's children (Matthew 7:24).
However, even at this level, people still have some forms of evil in their original character, nature or life force though they don't do evil or harm to others. Only when they throw away every form of evil can they enter the level of spirit. Hence, only when we've gotten rid of all the rind of the watermelon and only its inner contents remain, can the allegory compare inner fruit to the level of 'spirit'.
If we come into the level of spirit, evil is not revealed even unconsciously. We can believe and rely on God in any kind of situation. At this level we want to go to the arms of the Lord with hope for Heaven and we would willingly take the cross for souls' salvation on this earth. We want to give love with no desire to receive it back, so we can harbor and love even those who hate us and do harm to us.
To become such men of spirit, we need to pass the level of standing on the rock of faith first. Then, why haven't we stood on the rock of faith yet? The reasons and a checklist to enter the level of spirit quickly based on the lectures delivered in 2013 Leadership Conference.
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock" (Matthew 7:24-25).
"Why have you not stood on the rock of faith?"
When something goes against your thinking, you do not obey or tend to obey only things that you agree with.
You still get hot-tempered and often stand firmly in an argument due to a strong sense of insistence and frameworks of thought.
You fast and pray but you still have ill-feelings which break peace and you have a changing mind.
You smile on the outside and look kind but you still hold in ill-feelings.
You have worked faithfully and devoted yourself to the work of God as a leader but your heart hasn't been circumcised yet.
You have the framework of goodness that says 'such and such' is of goodness.
You lack the basic knowledge on Christian faith and you feel still uncomfortable, frustrated, and disappointed.
You often lose heart and the ability to keep things in mind and to keep doing something is insufficient.
You pray earnestly but you still have ill-feeling and do only things that you like to do.
Once you think you are right and something is of the truth, you do not change the thought in the strong framework of thoughts.
You make excuses to justify yourself.
You use an extremely negative way of thinking that causes you to think you can't make it.
You are quite self-centered and selfish, so you can seldom give spiritual love.
You hardly rely on God.
You think you are of goodness.
You have deficiencies of the body.
You harbor hard feelings and manners of the flesh remain in you.
You insist on what you like, you think, and what agrees with your personality.
You judge others in your thoughts.
You are influenced by fleshly affection.
You have craftiness in your heart so you follow what you think right.
You still have desire to show off and boast of things that belong to you.
Your framework of goodness hasn't been fully broken yet and craftiness and cowardice remain in your heart.
You love others in your way—in self-centeredness—so you lack spiritual love.
You disobey due to your own thought and have ill-feelings.
You are not good at understanding others and harboring them with love.
You have to break the framework of your personality in order to give joy and comfort to others with positive ways of thinking.
"What should you do to come into spirit quickly?"
You have to break off greed and selfish-motives in your personality and nature and feel love towards God and approach Him.
You have to destroy the strong framework of personality that was formed due to the surrounding while you grew up, and humble yourself thoroughly.
You have to meet and experience God yourself, not just hear about Him; and you must completely believe and rely on Him from the heart.
Although you have destroyed the framework of personality with the heart of obedience, you should humble yourself and totally break the framework of arrogance.
You should pile up fiery prayer and develop hearts considerate of others.
You should get rid of every form of evil in your nature.
You have to check if what you believe and what you think to be right or wrong.
You should not think in terms of 'yours', 'your' thought, what 'you' want to achieve, what 'you' want to have, and you should change an unclear way of acting.
You should get rid of fleshly affection and stop doing things in a fleshly way.
"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21).
|
Manmin News 
11966
