Bible Study HF197 - Twelve Nuggets of Gold
To: Hebraic-Foundations@YahooGroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008
Subject: Bible Study HF197 - Twelve Nuggets of Gold
Hebraics,
In my close to forty-four years as a minister of the gospel, there are
certain guiding principles of faith that I've learned to apply to my walk
with the Lord. I wanted to pass these principles on to my readers. Perhaps
some or all of the principles will become a source of strength for your own
life.
I'll base these nuggets of gold on something that the sage wrote:
*"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, or loathe His reproof,
for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he
delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains
understanding. For its profit is better than the profit of silver, and its
gain than fine gold.*
*"She [wisdom from God] is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire
compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are
riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who
hold her fast."* - Pro 3:11-18 nasb
Here are the twelve nuggets:
I – Remember that Jesus is the author & finisher of your faith
The walk of faith is deeply personal so don't compare yourself to others.
There are a couple of issues to keep in mind. One is that the outwalking of
our faith is always under the guiding hand of the Lord. Second is the test
of faith. The test has to do with, *'Am I this very moment trusting Jesus
Christ for whatever my need may be'*. Cf. Phil2:12,13; 2Co13:5.
II – Learn to live daily from God's renewing mercy and grace
Jeremiah sorrowed over Jerusalem. Then he remembered something about the
Lord. Listen -
*"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S
lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They
are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,'
says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.' The LORD is good to those who
wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him."* - Lam 3:21-25
We need renewing grace each and every day. In the tabernacle the table of
showbread was known as 'the bread of the face,' or, 'the bread of His
presence.' It had to be fresh bread daily. So, where do we find the bread of
His presence daily? Believers will always find renewing grace in God's holy
book, the Bible. Cf. Heb4:12,13; 2Co3:14-18.
III – Learn to strengthened your heart in faith
This is what 'speak truth in your heart' means.' It means to speak in line
with what God Himself has to say. But it also tells us to see to the
condition of our heart. I like to call this, 'the heart watch.'
*"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines
brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like
darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. *
* *
*"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not
let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For
they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch
over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of
life."*- Pro 4:18-23 NASB
The Hebrew word for 'springs' (to-ma-ah') speaks of boundaries, or source,
or outgoings. We actually live from our heart. This is why we must keep a
heart watch. Out of our heart flows the directives of our life. In other
words, our future life depends on our heart.
IV – Refuse to compromise your faith
Satan's attacks are always at disrupting our faith. This is a two-pronged
area. As a beginning place don't sin against your own conscience. (Where
your faith speaks from.) And, secondly, don't interpose on another
believer's faith. A good chapter to read for this truth is Romans 14.
This is also what can be called the 'hold fast' principle of the faith walk.
Hebrews 10:36 says,
*"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of
God, you may receive what was promised."*
V – Retake Lost ground
Never underestimate blessing of repentance and reconsecration. All through
the Scriptures, God's blessings rest on the repentant one, always and
without exception. Why is this? It is because of God's love.
The ancient people of God considered repentance to be a form of worship. To
them it meant making continual adjustments in the path of righteousness.
Listen:
*"For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance
and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.' But
you [the nonbeliever and unrepentant] were not willing." Isaiah 28:12 nasb*
* *
*"'For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into
being,' declares the LORD. 'But to this one I will look, to him who is
humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.'"* - Isa 66:2
nasb
VI – Remember where the Lord brought you from
I like to call this principle 'building memorial stones for my children to
remember'. This is where fathers and mothers can pass their faith on to
their children. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, they were instructed
to place a marker there. Listen to its purpose:
*"Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at
Gilgal. He said to the sons of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers
in time to come, saying, "What are these stones?" then you shall inform your
children, saying, "Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground." *
* *
*"For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until
you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He
dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth
may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD
your God forever."* - Joshua 4:20-24 NASB
The reason God gave us a written record of His works throughout history is
so that we would know the truth about Him and what He can do and has done
through the ages. Cf. John 20:30,31.
VII – Allow the Lord to choose for you
When we were young in faith we tended to tell the Lord how we wished Him to
bless us. As we mature in our faith walk our attitude begins to change. A
more mature level of the faith walk is when we ask the Lord to choose for
us. This is the true Abrahamic attitude that believers are to acquire.
*"The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is
beautiful to me."* - Psa 16:5-6 NASB
This principle can also be called the 'Abba! Father!' principle, where we
say, *"Lord, not my will, but Your will be done.'*
VIII – Remember blessings come in unexpected ways
A true walk of faith always carries in it an anticipation of good things to
come. Many times our blessings will come in strange packages, sometimes even
in a heart ache. The issue at hand is to know that you are a 'blessed one'
of the Lord. Listen again:
*"O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes
refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear Him
there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who
seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing."* - Psa 34:8-10 NASB
IX – Prove to be a doer of the Word
It is in the doing of God's Word that we are blessed. This doing is called
'the obedience of faith.' But there is also a key here. The Lord looks at
why we do what we do and not merely the doing itself.
*"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude
themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like
a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at
himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he
was.*
* *
*"But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty [the
gospel], and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an
effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."* - Jas 1:22-25
NASB
The Greek word for 'doer' is very interesting. Poietes is where we get our
word 'poet.' A poet works with words. Pioetes speaks of making something or
to perform something, that is, a performer. In a similar sense the Lord has
given us His Word to build our lives upon. It isn't that we create life.
Life has already been created for us. We discover our true life in Jesus in
the doing of God's Word.
X – Learn to put behind the old life
Whether its our past life before we met Jesus, or something that we have
stumbled over in our walk with the Lord, these things are to be left behind.
It is important to remember that the Lord saved us, is saving us, and will
save us. Take to heart the new covenant promise:
*"'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days,' says the Lord: 'I will put My laws into their minds, and I will
write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My
people. *
* *
*"And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his
brother, saying, "know the Lord," for all will know Me, from the least to
the greatest of the, For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will
remember their sins no more.'"* - Heb 8:10-12 NASB
XI – Live by your last instructions
The walk of faith has spiritual boundaries. When you lose your peace this
means you have crossed a line. Paul said,
*"Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called
in one body; and be thankful. *
* *
*"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching
and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."* - Col 3:14-16 NASB
Sometimes when we lose our peace it is because we have gotten ahead of the
Lord. This is where it is so important to go back to your last instructions,
and remain with that instruction until He gives you a clear leading to do
something else.
We can metaphorically apply Psalm 147:14 to our spiritual walk; "He makes
peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat."
XII – Acquire a sense of humor
This is the one you may think doesn't fit anywhere. You are quite wrong.
Having a healthy sense of humor is crucial to a healthy faith walk. There is
nothing the enemy hates more than for a believer to be able to laugh in
difficult moments.
The point is that every time God answers a prayer, or sends a blessings, or
shows Himself awesome in some other way, He is creating laughter that
belongs to faith. Listen:
*"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the
bones."*- Pro 17:22 nasb
Do you recall the story of the birth of Isaac? See if you can see the faith
connection:
*"Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh
with me.' And she said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would
nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.'"* - Gen 21:5-7
NASB
Has God ever made laughter for you? Think about it.
Well, there you have it. What a treasure these 'twelve nuggets of gold.'
Perhaps you have some more nuggets that you could add to the collection.
What about it?
Much love coming your way,
Buddy
--
Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
"How beautiful upon the mountains..." Isa 52:7
Web: http://ChristianChallenge.Org <http://christianchallenge.org/>
blog: http://www.buddymartin.net/blog/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)