Jesus loves you

@Livingwater. Series 3 Study 7 INDWELLING (Scripture Portions: John 14: 16-18 and 26; 15:26; 16: 7-11 and 13-14) It may be helpful to compare the following relationships which God is pleased to sustain towards His children:- He is ABOVE us – Deuteronomy 4:39; Ephesians 1:20-21. He is BENEATH us – Deuteronomy 33:27. He is BEFORE us – Exodus 13:21-22; John 10:4. He is BEHIND us – Exodus 14:19. He is AROUND us – Psalm 34:7; 125:2. He is WITH us – Isaiah 41:10; Hebrews 13:5-6. He is WITHIN us – Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27. Of all the associations short of Glory itself, the last (above) is the greatest – that the Lord Himself should come and live within the human personality. In Ezekiel 36:27, we find the fact of His indwelling anticipated, but it was our Lord Himself who spoke fully about this – in John 14:16-18 and 26; 15:26; 16:7-11 and 13-14. Notice the following important truths in John 14:16-18: 1 . The Holy Spirit is a Person Notice the four persons referred to ...

@Livingwater. Series 3 Study 6 ADOPTION (Scripture Portion: Romans 8: 1-17) In Exodus 2:10 (compare Hebrews 11:24), Esther 2:7, and in Luke 15:11-24, we have three illustrations of adoption, and these will help us to answer the question: What does Adoption mean? It means – the placing of a son. When we are born again we become children in God’s family (John 1:12-13), and God becomes our loving Heavenly Father (John 6:32). But, we not only become children of God; we become sons of God and legally recognised heirs – look up Romans 8:14-17. Thus, by adoption, God gives us a new status, and this new status, or position, at once brings us into the place of new Privilege and of new Responsibility. 1 . THE PRIVILEGES OF THE ADOPTED According to Ephesians 1:4-5, we, as believers, were adopted in the purpose of God “before the creation of the world.” What are the privileges and blessings which are ours as the result of our adoption? WE HAVE RECEIVED HIS SPIRIT. Look up Romans 8:15 and...

@Livingwater Series 3 Study 5 JUSTIFICATION (Scripture Portions: Luke 18: 9-14; Romans 5: 1-11) The question asked in Job 25:4 is still being asked today, and the glorious message of the gospel is that God has provided a perfect and an entirely satisfactory way of justifying the ungodly (Romans 3:26; 4:5). 1 . WHAT IS THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION ? Look up Acts 13:38-39, and notice that through believing we receive “forgiveness of sins” (verse 38), and we are “justified” (verse 39). Justification is more than forgiveness; it is to be cleared of all blame and to be free from every charge. In an earthly court, a judge cannot both forgive a man and justify him at the same time, for if he forgives him then the man must be guilty and therefore he cannot be justified; on the other hand, if he justifies him, he does not need forgiveness. God, however, undertakes both to forgive the sin and to justify the sinner; that is, to forgive the guilty and condemned sinner and to place him in ...

@Livingwater Series 3 Study 4 REGENERATION GREAT WORDS OF THE GOSPEL (Scripture Portion: John 3: 1-16) By regeneration, or the new birth, we mean that act of the Holy Spirit whereby He communicates the divine life to the sinner, thus making him a child of God. The new birth is the key doctrine to every other truth revealed in the Word of God. To understand this doctrine is to open the door to an understanding of every other Bible doctrine. In the professing Church today, in every denomination, there are two classes of members – those who have been born again and who are therefore members of the true Church, and those who have never been born again. 1 . WHAT THE NEW BIRTH IS NOT IT IS A NEW BIRTH, A SECOND BIRTH, A BIRTH FROM ABOVE. Note “again” in verses 3 and 7 – “from above” (margin). IT IS BEING MADE ALIVE FROM THE DEAD; PASSING FROM DEATH TO LIFE.By nature man is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1), but by the miracle of the new birth he is raised to newness of life (Romans...

@Livingwater Series 3 Study 3 FAITH (Scripture Portion: Mark 5: 25-34) The human race is divided into two classes of people – believers and unbelievers. God’s people are believers; they are characterised by faith and they live by faith (Romans 1:17); faith is the operative principle of the new life, the Christian life. There are many aspects of faith, as Hebrews 11 so wonderfully illustrates, but in this study we shall confine ourselves to what is called saving faith – the faith which brings us into the experience and enjoyment of God’s salvation. 1 . WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED ? (Acts 16 :30 ) This is the question of questions, and it asks: What is the human responsibility in the matter of salvation? At infinite cost, salvation has been provided for every sinner (1 John 2:2). God’s only-begotten Son came down from Heaven and procured salvation by dying for us upon the cross (Isaiah 53:5-6; John 1:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God the Father accepted His finished work and raised H...

@Livingwater Series 3 Study 2 REPENTANCE GREAT WORDS OF THE GOSPEL by Francis Dixon (Scripture Portion: Luke 15: 3-24) Anyone who has any doubts as to the importance of the doctrine of repentance needs only to read the solemn words of our Lord Jesus Christ recorded in Luke 13:3. The Bible is full of this subject, and the word is used over one hundred times – fifty-eight times in the New Testament alone. Yet, someone has rightly said of repentance that it is “the missing note in modern evangelism.” It was the key-note of New Testament preaching: John the Baptist began his ministry with a call to repentance (Matthew 3:2); our Lord’s first word was “Repent…” (Matthew 4:17); those whom He commissioned were commanded to preach repentance (Mark 6:12 and Luke 24:47); there is joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10); Peter preached repentance (Acts 2:37-38); Paul preached repentance (Acts 17:30-31); and repentance leading to faith is everywhere laid down in the Bible as ...

@Livingwater Series 3 Study 1 CONVICTION (Scripture Portion: John 16: 1-11) The salvation of a soul is always preceded and accompanied by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. No one is ever truly saved without experiencing this conviction of which Jesus spoke in John 16:7-11. People often think that they can be saved “at will”; that is, just when they decide they would like to be saved, and very often those who preach the gospel fail to realise how imperative it is to secure the convicting work of the Holy Spirit if ever spiritual results are to be produced. In the salvation of a soul it is always God who takes the initiative – look up Genesis 3:9 and John 15:16. If God did not seek man, man would never seek after God – look up Romans 3:11, and compare John 5:6 and 6:44. This raises the question: How does the Father draw men and women to Christ? The answer is – by the Holy Spirit, and the first great work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes is the work of conviction; this means...